


The Red Scarf

by crabapple



Category: Tales of Vesperia
Genre: Age Difference, M/M, Slow Burn, Vigilantism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-25
Updated: 2016-07-27
Packaged: 2018-01-09 22:42:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 56,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1151676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crabapple/pseuds/crabapple
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yuri meets a vigilante with a red scarf while running from the knights and is plunged into a life dedicated to justice. It’s simple enough. Find evil people and kill them. Too bad everyone around him has a habit of making things complicated.  Especially Raven.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: The Leering Officer

**Author's Note:**

> This story has been in the works for a long time. It will eventually feature Yuri/Raven as the main pairing. Expect updates every other week. I’d like to thank my two fantastic betas, StardustAndAsh and sarahannmarie, for helping me get this monster of mine in working order.

Yuri Lowell was fighting off a headache. A dull ache had been building behind his eyes since morning, and he had just about had it. He supposed he was lucky that he and Flynn had patrolled together. If he’d been stuck wandering the streets with some idiot instead, he probably would have a full on migraine.

After shoving some lukewarm dinner down his throat, Yuri was finally able to make his way back to the barracks. The barracks were full of off duty knights, and the sound of their muffled speech created a dissonant symphony to accompany Yuri’s headache. He sat down at the edge of his bunk and cradled his head in his hands.

Flynn was lying on his own bunk, which was across from Yuri’s. Despite the fact that they’d been roused at the crack of dawn that morning, Flynn was actually _reading._ Yuri could barely keep his eyes in focus, and this bastard was reading like it was no big deal.

“It’s nice to see you, too,” Flynn commented without looking up from his book. Yuri saw a smile spread across Flynn’s face when he peeked out from behind his hands.

“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

“I wouldn’t say that.” Flynn put a slim piece of parchment in his book before closing it firmly. “You have to patrol the warehouses tomorrow night, right?”

Yuri managed to sit up out of his slouch. “Yeah and all by myself. I wonder if I’ll get ambushed this time.”

Flynn’s smile slipped into a frown. “You’re too paranoid.”

“Terrence is the one that assigned it. You know he’s out to get me.”

The thought of Terrence put a scowl on Yuri’s face. Terrence was the officer in charge of their unit, and he had a reputation of being disagreeable. Unfortunately, he was usually given the lowborn ‘undesirables’ to break in. Terrence was a notorious raging drunk, but his ‘good blood’ made him invulnerable to demotion or dishonorable discharge. Terrence had been stuck in the lowest rank of officers for years. At least the Knight Order had enough sense to not make a belligerent alcoholic into a Captain.

Flynn sighed. “Just keep your cool, Yuri. We’ll both get promoted eventually, and then we won’t be under Terrence’s power anymore. He’s just a low ranking officer.”

Yuri rubbed his forehead. “Yeah, we’ll get promoted _eventually._ Until then I’m screwed.”

Another member of their unit, a teenager with a bad set of teeth, walked over to Yuri and Flynn. Yuri couldn’t focus enough to remember the guy’s name. Randal? Ricky?

“Hello,” Flynn greeted the lanky teen with a charming false smile. It was the one that Flynn used on someone he didn’t like very much. “Can we help you with something?”

“Officer Terrence wants to see Lowell in his office right away.” The ugly bastard gave Yuri a crooked sneer.

A vile remark was at the tip of Yuri’s tongue, but Flynn quickly cut in with a wide smile and said, “Thank you for letting him know.”

Green eyes shifted between Yuri and Flynn disdainfully before their fellow knight stormed away.

“It’s five minutes until lights out! What the hell does he want with me now?” Yuri whispered to Flynn once the unit’s suck up was out of earshot. Yuri could feel his headache worsening. He just wanted to sleep.

“You don’t have a choice,” Flynn said seriously. Yuri could see worry in his friend’s eyes.

Yuri got to his feet. “I know. I’ll hold my tongue and be respectful and all that garbage,” he said as he rubbed forehead again. “Don’t wait up for me.”

Flynn nodded. “Be careful.”

Yuri huffed and gave a casual wave in parting. He could feel blue eyes following him as he made his way out of the barracks. He had been dealing with Terrence’s bullshit for almost six months. He had made the mistake of letting the power plays get to him. Once Yuri had shown Terrence how riled up he could get, the bastard had started to focus on Yuri. The officer did everything in his power to make Yuri lose his cool just so Terrence could gleefully dish out a punishment for insubordination.

A wooden door with a worn plaque that read, _Officer Terrence Pavone,_ stood at the end of the hallway Yuri was walking down _._ When he got to the door he sighed and straightened his scowl out into a more neutral expression. He couldn’t show any weakness to a shark like Terrence least he smell blood and go in for the kill. After composing himself, Yuri knocked on the door.

“Come in,” a nasally voice rang out from the other side.

The door hinges screeched as Yuri opened the door, almost causing him to break his façade into a grimace. Terrence sat in an old office chair, a half empty bottle of wine clutched in one of his hands. He was a middle aged man with short black hair and dark bags under his eyes. He gave Yuri a vicious grin.

“Yuri Lowell. What brings you to my office at this time of night?”

“You called me, sir,” Yuri replied in a clipped tone and forced himself to salute the man.

“Did I?” Terrence put the bottle down onto the desk. He wobbled out of his chair and gave Yuri a leer. “At ease.”

“Is there something you want, _sir_?”Yuri couldn’t keep the annoyance from his voice. His headache had entered into migraine territory.

“I want a lot of things, Lowell. I’m probably never going to get most of them. I’m a Pavone. I’m supposed to be on top of the world.” Terrence took a step towards Yuri, and Yuri unconsciously took one back.

Anxiety churned in Yuri’s gut. Terrence usually mocked Yuri where everyone could overhear, and the bastard had never gone on about himself like this. Yuri realized with a jolt that this was the first time the two of them had ever been alone.

“I’m tired of all these politics. I’m going to get what I want for once.”

Terrence lunged at Yuri, and before he could react Yuri was thrown against the office door and had a knife pressed to his throat. There was an insane glint in the older man’s eyes. Yuri’s head and heart were pounding in time with one another. Terrence was leaning forward.

The shock he had been in lifted in an instant. He punched Terrence in the throat right before their lips met. Terrence gagged and pulled back from Yuri, taking the knife with him. Yuri punched Terrence in the gut and kicked him once he was down. Terrence’s hold on the knife slackened, and Yuri tore it from his hand and threw it away.

“Shit!” Terrence rasped as he tried to get up. “I’ll kill you!”

The next thing Yuri knew, he was staring down at Terrence’s bloody face. Terrence was out cold, and Yuri was straddling him and panting. His split knuckles were throbbing as badly as his head, and he could feel wetness at his throat. He needed a gel. Yuri staggered to his feet, but kept his eyes locked on Terrence’s unmoving form. This was bad. This was really, really bad. It didn’t matter that Yuri had been assaulted. Terrence was a Pavone. They were a powerful family, and Yuri had signed his own discharge with this. If not worse.

Yuri stumbled from the office. The hallway was empty, and so he began to rush back to the barracks.

Flynn would know what to do. Flynn always knew what to do.

The grunt that had been assigned to guard the barracks was fast asleep, and Yuri found the place quiet and dark. Yuri got to his bunk and dug through his things until he found his stash of apple gels. He ate a couple and sighed in relief. The small cut on his neck closed, his split knuckles knitted back together, and even his headache let up a bit.

Flynn was asleep, and the nighttime light was casting shadows on his face. Yuri hesitated to wake him up. He couldn’t expect his oldest friend to smooth talk him out of this one. There was only one thing Yuri could do. He had to leave before he found himself locked in a prison cell.

Yuri grabbed his now disordered bag and pushed a few stray things into it before clipping his bodhi blastia onto his wrist and picking up his standard issue sword. Flynn turned over in his sleep and started muttering to himself. Yuri left the barracks before he gave into the temptation to shake Flynn awake.

~P~

The sun was just beginning to paint the sky in a myriad of colors. Its rays lit up the very top of the city, the spires of the royal castle burning like beacons in the semi-darkness. The beauty and grandeur of the castle seemed like a dream when compared to the grimy rooftop Yuri sat on.

A quiet chuckle escaped the teenager’s mouth as a self-depreciating grin appeared on his lips. He had hoped that this morning would never come, but the sun was rising as it always did. The morning was as cheerful as ever, or at least as cheerful as it could get in the rundown Lower Quarter of the city. Yuri knew that expecting the sun not to rise was ridiculous, but it was harder to face the reality that his life was what had changed. His dreams had come crashing down around him the night before.

But no, that wasn’t quite right either.

Those had never really been _his_ dreams, had they? They had always belonged to the only person who ever _really_ gave a damn about him. Yuri had never had dreams of his own because he had always been so focused on basic survival. When Flynn had told Yuri about his goal to become an honorable knight that could do something about the injustices that riddled their society, Yuri had jumped on the idea. He had agreed with Flynn and had made that his own dream, because what else would he want more than to see Flynn succeed? The thought of battling injustice had sounded pretty good, too.

Last night those dreams had been abandoned. Yuri felt a crushing guilt. He could have just left the office. He could have started yelling and gotten a group of knights on Terrence. Instead Yuri had beaten him to a pulp. He couldn’t even remember doing it. Flynn would be waking up right now, and he would soon know what Yuri had done. Yuri had a rising anxiety in his gut that he would have to leave Zaphias. Terrence would undoubtedly seek revenge.

A soft whine interrupted Yuri’s brooding. The dark haired teenager glanced over to his right to look at a gangly blue and white pup named Repede. The pup had a nasty scar on the left side of his face, making his left eye unusable. He also held a curious pipe in his mouth.

Yuri gave the dog a shaky grin. He and Flynn had found Repede hurt in a back alley almost a year earlier. They had nursed Repede back to health, and the dog had immediately taken to the two of them. Yuri had missed Repede while he and Flynn were stuck in basic. Repede had taken to following them on patrols once they’d been freed from that particular hell.

Repede got up and rubbed his head against Yuri’s side in a reassuring gesture. He whined again, and Yuri’s grin grew a little wider as he petted the dog.

“Yeah, I know. Things’ll get better,” Yuri softly mumbled to himself, looking upon the new morning with a little less despair.

~P~

“Yuri, you need to tell me what’s going on!” Flynn’s blue eyes were blazing with emotion. Yuri couldn’t tell if they were full of worry or anger. He didn’t know which one was worse. “You went to go see Terrence, and now they’ve found him dead! What the hell happened last night?”

Yuri was leaning against a wall in a back alley in the Lower Quarter. Repede silently stood between him and Flynn. Yuri could feel his gut clench at Flynn’s words. If Terrence was dead, wouldn’t he be the prime suspect?

“I don’t know. Terrence was ranting at me. He was out of his mind.” Yuri couldn’t make eye contact with Flynn anymore.

“He committed suicide, Yuri. They found him hanged at his family’s estate this morning. He’d looked like he’d been beaten up. They suspect foul play. There are knights looking for you.”

That didn’t make any sense. Terrence would have wanted to get revenge on Yuri. Terrence would have wanted to see him in chains. Why would he kill himself?  

“I’m sorry, Flynn. I’m going to have to leave town.”

Flynn stepped closer to Yuri. “What are you talking about? Our superiors have put out the watch for a man in his late twenties who has red hair. They only want to talk to you to find out what happened in Terrence’s office. There was blood on the floor, and you’re the last person that saw him. What happened?”

Yuri sighed. “He came after me with a knife, so I defended myself. I ran out of the office after, and that was the last I saw of him. You think our superiors are going to be happy to hear I beat the shit out of an officer?” Yuri wasn’t going to tell Flynn what Terrence had wanted from him. He would much rather forget.

Flynn’s face shifted into disbelief. “He tried to kill you? Are you alright?” Flynn was looking Yuri over with concern.

“Yeah, he tried to slit my throat, but _I’m fine_ , Flynn.” Yuri waved off his friend’s concern. He was surprised Flynn wasn’t telling him off for losing his cool.

“Then tell the knights that! It doesn’t matter that Terrence was a Pavone. If he tried to kill you then I think our superiors will understand.”

Yuri shook his head. “I can’t.” He didn’t agree with Flynn. From what he’d seen, someone’s surname was all that really mattered. “You said they have a watch out on a guy with red hair?”

“Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?”

“I’m going to try and find him.”

Flynn looked at Yuri like he was insane. “Why?”

“I want to know what happened. Besides, if I bring him in I might get off the hook.”

Flynn sighed in exasperation. “At least let me come with you.”

“And have you be AWOL, too? No, Flynn, I’m not dragging you into this. I’ll handle it.”

“If you’d just tell our superiors—“

“ _I can’t_ ,” Yuri repeated.

A look of resignation crossed Flynn’s face. He glanced down at Repede, who was still silently watching the both of them. “Keep an eye on Yuri for me.”

Repede barked in confirmation, and Flynn turned around. Yuri could see Flynn’s irritation in how he walked, but he didn’t have Flynn’s faith in their superiors. He was convinced that if he turned himself in, he would never see anything but the inside of a prison cell again.


	2. Prologue: Something Good

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting a little early because the ESO Beta is this weekend! This finishes off the prologue. Don’t worry, the Great Raven will make his dazzling appearance in the second chapter. Thanks again to my two wonderful betas, StardustAndAsh and sarahannmarie.

Night had fallen, and Yuri was slinking through the Noble Quarter. He had spent the day gathering information. The man the knights were looking for was seen leaving the Pavone estate not long before Terrence’s body was discovered. Yuri had a good idea that the suspect was still somewhere in the Noble Quarter since people were whispering about seeing a stranger with red hair dressed in all black.

Repede started growling. Yuri heard the sound of hurried footsteps in the alley he was standing in. He readied his sword, believing he’d been discovered. To his surprise, a nobleman skidded to a halt in front of him. The man’s breathing was ragged and sweat ran down his round face and prominent double chin. Yuri realized that the man standing before him was Duke Ian Kerwar, a noble who had been responsible for many of the corruptions that had plagued the Lower Quarter. He was a greedy and terrible man. Before Yuri could sheath his sword, the sound of footsteps filled the alleyway again. These were much slower and softer than the Duke’s had been.

“P-please, let me pass!” the Duke gasped out, his beady eyes bulging in his desperation. “I’ll do anything, b-but please you can’t let him kill me!”

The Duke’s heavy breathing changed in an instant. He let out a choked whine as blood dripped from the corner of his mouth. A sword had been impaled through his heart and was grotesquely sticking out of his chest. The blood coated steel glinted imposingly as the life slowly drained from the Duke’s beady eyes. The sword was pulled out of the Duke’s body, and the nobleman fell to the ground. His murderer was hard to see as he wore all black. His face was partially covered by long red bangs and a matching scarf. Yuri couldn’t believe it. It was the man he’d been looking for.

Yuri raised his sword again. “What did you do to Terrence Pavone?”

The murderer didn’t grace Yuri’s question with a reply. He turned from the alley and started sprinting away. Yuri swore before sheathing his sword, and he and Repede both tore after the bastard. Yuri heard yelling start up in the distance.

The man sped through alleys and passages that Yuri had never been in before. Just when he thought he couldn’t run any longer, Yuri found that they had made it outside of the city’s walls. The murderer sped into the nearby woods, and Yuri pushed himself to continue to pursue him.  They finally stopped in a small clearing which was the first real break in the thick forest they’d come across.

Despite his best efforts, Yuri was leaning over and gasping for breath. Luckily for him, the suspect didn’t attack. In fact, he didn’t even draw his sword. Repede was panting next to Yuri, though the dog was poised for an attack.

“I spoke with Pavone and convinced him of the best course of action.” It took Yuri a moment to comprehend that his earlier question was being answered. “I do wonder why you seem to care so much.”

Yuri noted with envy that the murderer was barely out of breath. He managed to straighten himself out before saying, “Let’s just say I’m a concerned party. How the hell did you talk Terrence into killing himself?”

The murderer lifted his face from where he’d buried it into his scarf. His mouth was turned downward into a slight frown as his dark eyes focused on Yuri intensely. “He made a grave error in the past that caused me a lot of suffering. I had originally planned to run him through, as I did to Ian Kerwar, but I found him in quite a state. I am a ghost from his past, and when he saw me it was very simple to convince him of the right path.” The vigilante took a step forward, and Yuri got ready to draw his sword. Repede growled viciously. “You couldn’t have chased me out of the city for only an explanation.”

“I was the one who put Pavone in the state you found him in.”

Yuri’s grip on his sword loosened a little when the man’s mouth shifted into a small smile. “ _You_ are Yuri Lowell? He told me about you and what you did. I owe you my thanks. Because of you his death was much more satisfying than I could have hoped for.”

It was hard to tell if this guy was completely insane or not. He was composed and wasn’t being hostile. Yuri had a half a mind to attack and try to drag this strange man back to the Capital. He and Repede could probably handle it. Yet, Yuri was hesitating. Terrence was dead. If this murderer hadn’t interfered, then Terrence would have gone after Yuri. Yuri had also witnessed the death of someone else who was despicable. Yuri could remember countless times when the people of the Lower Quarter cursed Ian Kerwar’s name, and now the nobleman would never hurt any of them again.

“Are you a part of some assassins’ guild?” Yuri found himself asking.

The redheaded man’s smile fell. “I answer to no man but myself.”

“You’re a vigilante.” Yuri felt a little better at this revelation. Two terrible people were gone, and it wasn’t because of money or a guild’s agenda.

“Yes, a cold and hungry vigilante who wants to set up camp. If you’re finished?”

Yuri looked around the small clearing. “I could lead the knights right to you.”

The older man gave Yuri a bland look. “You could.”

“I could also stay here.” Yuri smirked.

The murderer huffed. “And why would you want to do that?”

“The knights are looking for me, and they won’t find me here.” Yuri didn’t want to go back to the city. Even if he could smooth things over, he doubted he’d avoid a dishonorable discharge. Yuri would rather be a deserter than have to stand at an inquiry full of pompous Captains who would only revel at the chance to get rid of a lowborn like him. Besides, he was curious.

The vigilante gave Yuri a vaguely amused look before taking another step closer. Repede had relaxed during their conversation, but started growling again at his closer proximity. “You would sleep so close to a murderer?”

“I slept in the barracks for months. You wouldn’t believe what some of those guys are like.”

The older man shook his head. “I won’t drive you off. Just make sure your pet doesn’t tear me to pieces while I sleep.”

“ _Repede_ is not my pet. He’s my friend.” Repede stopped growling, though he was still giving the darkly clad man a cold stare. Yuri could only imagine what Flynn’s expression would be if he knew Yuri was thinking of throwing his lot in with a murderer.

“You have a name? You know mine already, after all,” Yuri asked while the vigilante started digging around in the small bag he carried with him.

The man stared at Yuri for a moment. “Clay,” he replied in a flat tone before digging into the bag once more.

“Just Clay?” Yuri asked.

“Just Clay.”

~P~

There were jagged walls rising in the distance. This was the closest Yuri had been to Deidon Hold in his life. He was trudging through the wild growth a couple of miles off the main road, Repede walking dutifully next to him. Clay was a couple of feet away. The other man had blended well with the night, but now his dark clothes and crimson hair made him stick out like a sore thumb.

Yuri had decided to follow Clay. He had found that the morning light had done little to dissuade his aversion to going back to the city. The only thing that almost drove him back was Flynn. He would send a letter back to Zaphias and tell Flynn that he was alright. That he’d decided to leave the city after all. Flynn was still in the knights, and he could keep charging forward with his dream. Yuri on the other hand would have to take a different approach.

Clay had been amused at Yuri’s insistence to go with him. The vigilante had simply warned Yuri not to get in the way. Yuri didn’t plan on it. He could still remember the life draining from Ian Kerwar’s eyes with striking clarity. Yuri was admittedly intrigued. A part of him wondered what right Clay had to decide who should live or die, while another couldn’t find any real reasons why Terrence Pavone and Ian Kerwar should have been allowed to keep drawing breath. Certainly their depravity far outweighed their compassion. Despite this reasoning, Yuri did have a very specific reason to follow Clay. He hadn’t tried to capture the man, but if Yuri saw Clay strike out against someone he shouldn’t, Yuri wouldn’t hesitate to stop him. He supposed that keeping an eye on a man on a self-imposed crusade was the best he could do, now that he wasn’t a knight anymore.

Yuri didn’t know if he was making a mistake, but he couldn’t stop thinking about one thing Clay had said the night before about Terrence. _He made a grave error in the past that caused me a lot of suffering._

~P~

A year had passed since Yuri had set out with Clay, and the city of Nordopolica was in an uproar. Alarm bells were ringing, and a building in the distance was ablaze. The moon was new, making the city darker than usual and the distant fire all the more bright. Yuri stood calmly by one of the city’s many docks, watching the chaos from afar. A small boat was moored behind him.

Yuri and Clay had become friends, of a sort. While watching Clay’s actions, Yuri hadn’t seen the older man waiver once. He’d taken to helping Clay out. Yuri had seen more good done at the hands of a single murderer than he had in all his life spent in Zaphias. He sent short letters back to his hometown in order to let Flynn know he was still alive and kicking, but he was never in one place for very long, so he had never received a reply. Yuri hadn’t been to Zaphias since he left, and the thought of Flynn always filled him with a peculiar guilt that he could not shake. He had found that the longer he stayed away from the Capital, the less he wanted to return.

Yuri was knocked from his introspection at the sight of two men racing to where he casually leaned. Both were brawny and one of them was wearing gauntlets on both arms.

“Hey, you!” The men had reached Yuri. “You need to leave this area! The docks are closed.”

Clay had warned Yuri that men might try and block off his escape, which was precisely why Yuri had stayed behind and stood guard over their boat.

“Why are you so worried about the docks? You do know there’s a fire over there?” Yuri asked with feigned ignorance.

“Don’t be a smartass!” the one with the gauntlets snarled.

Yuri could see there was no distracting them. He pulled his sword from its sheath and attacked the man without the gauntlets with a side slash. He cried out in pain, clutching his side as blood began to flow through his fingers.

The one with the gauntlets pulled back his fist to swing at Yuri, but Yuri smoothly dodged to the side. He countered with a slash of his sword followed by two quick jabs. He managed to scratch the man along his bicep. The man bellowed in rage and began to attack Yuri with quicker strikes. Yuri was hard pressed to dodge him.

A snarl rang out, and the man cried out in pain as he fell to the ground. Repede had taken a large bite out of his leg. The dog had been watching the other end of the dock but must have rushed over when the fight began. Yuri knocked the man out with the hilt of his sword.

“Thanks.” He smiled down at Repede.

The man Yuri had slashed at the beginning of the fight was lying down and groaning. He had already lost a lot of blood. Yuri didn’t want the man to die needlessly. He had only been doing his job, after all. Clay preferred, if he could, to only kill his target. Yuri thought that was a good creed to live by. He gave the man a gel to stop the bleeding. The man gave Yuri a look like he was insane, but Yuri simply shrugged. Once the bleeding stopped, Yuri hit the man over the head, just as he had done to his partner.

Repede barked, and Yuri turned to look in the direction the dog was facing. Yuri could see Clay bolting down the street, headed straight for them. Four guards were chasing him, and Yuri readied his blade for another battle. Clay turned to face his angry entourage, letting out a shout as he slashed his blade in an X shape in front of him. Red energy pulsed from his bodhi blastia and flew forward in the same shape. The energy blew away two of his pursuers. Yuri got the idea and sent out an Azure Edge. His own blue energy knocked over the others.

“Just like bowling,” Yuri stated blandly once Clay was in earshot.

The older man gave him a small smirk. “I see you had company while I was away. It’s a good thing you and Repede are here, or I would have had to deal with six of them by myself.”

Shouts rose up from the other end of the street, and Yuri saw that one of guards they’d knocked over was getting up again. “We need to go.”

Clay nodded, and the three of them climbed into the boat.  Yuri started the small blastia run motor, and soon they had entered the ocean, leaving the chaos of the city behind. Once they had gotten clear of the sight of Nordopolica, they maneuvered the boat into the high growth along the coast. This way larger ships would have trouble pursuing them.

“I thought you were usually more discreet,” Yuri commented once they appeared to have gotten away.

Clay hummed. “Nigel knew I was coming. I threatened him years ago, and it has taken me all this time to fulfill my promise. In that time, he continued to barter with people’s lives as if they were nothing. It shouldn’t have taken me so long.” He had a haunted look in his eyes.

“Hey, don’t beat yourself up. If you hadn’t gotten him now, he would have just kept hurting people, right?” Yuri didn’t like it when Clay looked like that. It made him think that Clay was about ready to plunge himself into the sea.

“Yes, you’re right. I should take my own advice and not dwell on regrets.”

They pulled onto shore ten miles down the coast from Nordopolica. They would continue on foot and hide out in Montaic until the city calmed down. They walked in silence for a long time.

“Yuri.” Clay’s soft voice sounded like a shout in the calm of the night. “Thank you for your aid.”

Yuri felt a small grin appear on his lips. “It’s no big deal. You’re doing something good.”

~P~

It had been two years since Yuri had last seen his hometown, and it was striking to see Zaphias on the horizon. Clay had insisted they return to the city as soon as possible, and Yuri had agreed despite his apprehension. Yuri was sitting across from Clay in a bustling tavern at Deidon Hold. Uproarious laughter and smoky air surrounded them.

“There’s something I need to tell you.” Clay was looking in Yuri’s direction, but he seemed to see right through him. “Something you need to know.”

“Oh?” Yuri raised his eyebrows with faked nonchalance.

“I started my work eight years ago. The man who taught me everything I know about swordsmanship was murdered, and his killer wasn’t prosecuted. The killer was a part of a very wealthy family, and so his father was able to bribe the courts.”

Clay was silent for a long time after that, so Yuri spoke up. “So, you took care of him?”

“Yes. He was the first man I ever killed. I hadn’t originally planned it, but after confronting him, my anger got the best of me.” Clay wasn’t looking at Yuri at all anymore. He was staring off to the side, looking like his mind was somewhere far away.

“Is there a reason you’re telling me this? I mean, it sounds pretty cut and dry to me.”

“That man’s name was Shel, and he was my brother. The reason I set out on this journey was because I couldn’t live with myself otherwise. The first thing my teacher taught me was that a sword is used to protect. I killed someone I was supposed to protect, Yuri.” Clay finally looked back at Yuri, an intensity in his eyes that Yuri had never seen before.

Yuri was speechless. A part of him coldly thought that Clay’s brother deserved it, but it was quickly overridden by the roaring idea of _what if it was you who killed Flynn?_ Yuri abruptly stood up, a nausea running through him at the thought.

“I need some air,” he heard himself say before he walked out of the tavern.

Repede stood the moment he exited and followed Yuri to the gate that was positioned in the center of the Hold’s walls. Yuri stood there and looked out at the formless black landscape, Repede standing as a constant sentinel at his side. Yuri heard a door close and turned to face the inside of the Hold. Clay had walked out of the tavern and was walking over to where they had rented a tent for the night.

“You’ve done what you can. You’re trying to atone with every action you take, and that’s the best you can do.” Clay stopped walking, but didn’t turn to face Yuri. The distance between them was giving Yuri an uneasy feeling, but neither of them moved to shorten it.

“It will never be enough,” Clay said. Yuri couldn’t argue with that. “Promise me you won’t ever forget what a sword is meant for, Yuri.”

“I promise.”


	3. One: So Very Tired

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A thousand thanks to my betas, StardustAndAsh and sarahannmarie.

The star filled sky was the first image Yuri saw as he awoke with a start. The full moon’s light bothered his sleep ridden eyes as he glanced around the campsite. Repede was lying next to him, but Clay was nowhere to be found. Repede had awoken with him, and his intelligent eye was focused on Yuri. Something was wrong.

Clay did have a habit of wandering off, but his absence tonight left a cold feeling in Yuri’s gut. Repede let out a quiet bark, bumping his head against Yuri’s hand. Yuri looked down and saw a red scarf lying on the ground. An envelope and Clay’s bodhi blastia were wrapped inside of it. Yuri felt his blood run cold at the sight. Clay never went anywhere without his blastia or his scarf.

Yuri reached down and picked the envelope up. It was too dark to read, so he got to work getting the fire started again. Repede went to lay down by the dead fire, staring at Yuri intensely. Once a fire blazed in the pit Clay had made only a couple of hours earlier, Yuri hastily sat down and ripped open the letter. Clay’s handwriting was shaky.

_Yuri,_

_Over the past couple of years I have trained you in every arte I knew and have helped you hone your swordsman skills. You have progressed beyond my imagination, yet I know that you will only continue to grow as the years pass. I deeply regret I will not be able to see such fantastic progress._

_I have told you of my duty, a duty that was forged through a bitter anger with my own brother. I have told you about my scarf, a symbol of my pledge to taint my own hands with guilty blood so that I may save innocents._

_I have decided that my hands have been tainted enough. I am going to turn myself in. By tomorrow morning, my life will be forfeit._

_Do not despair, Yuri. I know that you are angry with me, but I have to do this. I am tired of the life that I lead. My hunger for justice has been long quenched. I can no longer sleep at night, for the faces of the men I’ve murdered haunt me. I am not that old, yet I feel ancient and so very tired._

_I have already said goodbye to Repede. He has allowed me to leave, and I know that he will stay by your side. For this, I am truly grateful._

_I know you may never forgive me, but there is nothing else I can do._

_I give you my blastia so that you may find some use for it, and I give you my scarf. I know that soon you will move past this and begin to rage at the many injustices in this world again. Use what I have taught you and wear this scarf with pride. Your actions will instill fear in the unjust and give hope to the downtrodden._

_You have an inner fire I never had, and I believe you will never become as tired as I am now. You will never give up, and that is why you are the greatest man I’ve ever known, Yuri Lowell._

_\--Clay_

Yuri’s hands were shaking. He sloppily folded the pages of the letter up and shoved them into his pocket with barely restrained calm.

“How could you let him leave?!” he yelled at the dog sitting on the other side of the fire. Repede did not give any sign of response. “We have to stop him! He can’t do this!”

Yuri stood up and was pacing back and forth, his arms waving wildly as he spoke. Repede stood up and walked toward him before letting out a loud and angry bark. Yuri stopped pacing and slowly sunk to the ground.

“Dammit!” he exclaimed in anguish as his whole body began shaking. He hit his fists against the ground before digging his fingers into the grass.

Repede drew closer to Yuri and rested his nose on the young man’s shoulder. Silent tears streamed down Yuri’s face as he mourned the loss of a man that had truly been like an older brother to him.

~1~

Days past and Yuri was stagnant. He stayed at the camp for so long that he had to fight off monsters after the repellent wore off. He didn’t care. In fact, killing the weaker monsters that hung around his hometown was therapeutic. He didn’t dare go into the city and watch the execution. There was nothing he could do to stop it, and he knew he’d end up trying to save Clay. He’d only get himself arrested and maybe even be executed himself for trying to interfere. He barely ate or slept for those days, and it eventually fell to Repede to defend the small campsite.

Yuri was sitting in front of the blackened fire pit, his eyes distant. Repede wandered back into the camp and was panting from fighting off another group of monsters. The dog settled down next to Yuri and barked.

It took Yuri a moment to reply, “What?”

Repede barked again and got up before biting down on Yuri’s sleeve and tugging on it.

Yuri sighed. “Repede, if you want to go into the city then I won’t stop you. Just let me stay here.”

Repede started whining and kept insistently tugging on Yuri’s sleeve.

“If I go back into the city, I’ll have to face Flynn.”

Repede let go of Yuri’s sleeve and let out a gruff bark.

“I know he misses me. It’s just that I’m not going to be able to hide this state I’m in from him. What am I supposed to tell him? That I’ve been an accomplice to a murderer for two years, and now I’m sad because said murderer got executed. Flynn will probably arrest me.”

Repede latched onto Yuri’s arm, though he didn’t bite down hard enough to break the skin. He started tugging Yuri towards the imposing form of Zaphias on the horizon.

“Were you even listening to what I just said?” Yuri asked in exasperation.

Repede didn’t stop, and so Yuri was forced to move unless he wanted to fall over.“Alright, dammit! I’m getting up.”

Yuri got to his feet as Repede let go of his arm. The dog barked triumphantly, and Yuri scowled at him. Repede started to nudge Yuri’s bag with his nose, and so Yuri begrudgingly went to pick it up and throw it over his shoulder.

“Are you happy now?”

Repede barked and sped off toward the city while Yuri followed at a much more sedate pace. Yuri got into the line outside of the main gate. He had fake papers with him that would let him easily pass into the city. After two years, Yuri doubted that the knights were still actively looking for him. His own desertion and Terrence Pavone’s suicide was old news. When Yuri got to the front of the line he was greeted by two of the ugliest knights he had ever seen. One was short and incredibly fat while the other was tall and had ridiculously huge lips.

“Your papers, traveler!” the short one said in an incredibly dramatic tone. Yuri wondered if the knights had turned into a circus troupe in his absence.

He gave the fat knight his papers. The taller one was watching Yuri with narrowed eyes. “You seem familiar.”

Yuri would have remembered meeting these two idiots. He shrugged. “I have one of those faces.”

The large lipped knight’s eyes narrowed completely into slits. Thankfully, Yuri got his papers back before anyone could recall the watch that had been put out on him two years previously.

Walking through the cobbled streets of the city was surreal. He had spent years wandering these streets, and they were almost as he remembered them. The small changes were jarring, in a way. Shops had changed their names, buildings had been remodeled, and the decrees and propaganda posters had morphed to fit the issues of a different year.

What Yuri wanted more than anything was a drink, and so he slipped into the Lower Quarter. He had been completely anonymous in the Public Quarter, but in the Lower Quarter, people whispered as he walked passed. They were a close knit community, and Yuri knew that word of his return would probably reach Flynn’s ears within an hour.

He really needed that drink.

~1~

Flynn never came. Yuri spent a month wandering around the Lower Quarter, hopping from bar to bar. He and Repede took up residence in an inn room. The owner was willing to let them stay there for dirt cheap after Yuri saved the man’s daughter from some overly friendly knights. Everyone in the Quarter worried for him, and they were also curious as to where he’d disappeared to for two years. Yuri helped them when he could with the decent amount of funds he’d gathered over the years, though he was quickly running low as he continued to binge on drinks. Yuri was completely resigned to the idea becoming another Lower Quarter drunk. He certainly didn’t have a desire to do anything else.

Yuri was sitting in a bar in the Lower Quarter, nursing a glass of some sort of alcohol whose name he couldn’t pronounce. He wasn’t drunk yet and wasn’t planning on getting drunk. He just didn’t have anything better to do. He felt so incredibly listless.

The door of the rather empty bar opened, and in walked a young blond knight in immaculate blue and white armor. A frown marred his face. When his eyes fell on the scruffy looking Yuri, his eyebrows drew together in obvious concern. It looked like Flynn had finally decided to show up.

“Yuri,” he said quietly as he went to stand next to his childhood friend. “I heard that you were back in town. It’s been years since we last spoke. I was beginning to think I’d never see you again!” His voice had taken on an angry edge at the end of his sentence.

Yuri didn’t even acknowledge Flynn’s presence. He simply took a sip of his drink and stared forward with the same tired and bored expression. A part of him couldn’t even believe that Flynn was standing there, and another part didn’t know how to react.

“Yuri,” Flynn repeated. The anger was still in his voice, but it was obvious he was trying to control it. “Please talk to me. All I’ve gotten from you are a few short letters. You told me you were going after that man with red hair, and then you disappeared! Until I got that first letter from you, I thought you’d been killed!”

Yuri closed his eyes. It was good to hear Flynn’s voice. He just wished it didn’t make him feel so guilty.

“What’s the matter with you? You’re drinking like some old man and acting like the world has ended!” Flynn roughly put a hand on Yuri’s shoulder.

Yuri set his drink down on the counter with a soft _thunk_. He turned his head towards the blond, and his dark violet eyes stared right into Flynn’s own bright blue.

“I’m sorry, Flynn,” Yuri said tiredly.

Flynn’s annoyed expression softened, and he let go of Yuri’s shoulder. “What happened to you?”

“I left, and I saw the world. Now I’m back.”

Flynn sat down on the barstool next to Yuri. “I meant what made you like this. I know you can be a broody pain in the ass sometimes, but this is a little different.”

Yuri couldn’t tell Flynn about Clay in detail, and he certainly wasn’t going to talk about his thoughts on continuing what Clay had been doing. Yuri couldn’t just leave Flynn hanging, though.

“I met a guy when I was traveling.” Flynn raised his eyebrows, and Yuri had to backpedal, “I don’t mean it like that. He was a friend of mine. He was a little older than us, and he taught me some things.”

“You keep saying _was_.”

Yuri shifted his gaze away from Flynn and onto his drink. “He died. That’s why I came back. Well actually, I came back because Repede dragged me, but you get the idea.”

Flynn put his hand on Yuri’s shoulder again, except this time it was a much gentler gesture. “I’m glad Repede did.”

“I missed your smug bastard face, you know. I thought you hated me since you never came by.”

“Sorry about that. I was sent out of the city on a mission. I just got back into town, and I should have some time off now.” Flynn gave Yuri a smile and squeezed his shoulder before letting it go.

“That armor you have on is pretty fancy. You’re an officer now, right? Please tell me you’re a higher rank than that bastard Terrence was.” Yuri turned his head to face Flynn and returned the smile with a small one of his own.

“Three ranks higher and steadily rising.”

“Good. The Empire will be a shining example in no time.”

Flynn chuckled before becoming more serious. “You know, it was a good thing you left. I was wrong about our superiors. Within a day they’d cancelled the watch on that redheaded suspect and called out a full scale search for you. A Duke was assassinated the night you disappeared, and they were trying to blame you for that, too.”

Yuri closed his eyes. He had been right after all. Now if only he could go back in time and tell himself this to avoid all of those sleepless and guilt-ridden nights.

“You need to lay low, Yuri,” Flynn knocked Yuri out of his thoughts. “Things might have died down, but they could easily get stirred up again.”

Clay had turned himself in, but Yuri didn’t know if the man had admitted to every crime he’d ever committed. Yuri would have to play it safe, just in case. He didn’t want to be hung for a murder he didn’t commit.

“I know, I know. You don’t have to be such a nag.”

Flynn huffed before getting up from his barstool. “Unfortunately, being an officer means filing out a lot of paper work. I have to go get started on it before my Captain has a fit.” Flynn gave Yuri another smile. “I’ll see you later. Try not to drink too much.”

“I would never.”

Flynn shook his head. “Don’t go running off on another adventure without telling me first, alright?”

“Sure, _mom_.”

Flynn burst out laughing before giving Yuri a wave of farewell and leaving the bar. Yuri had missed that laugh more than he’d like to admit.


	4. Two: Up in Smoke

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Raven finally decides to show up. Also politics! But this wouldn’t be tales of without politics. Thank you to my betas, StardustAndAsh and sarahannmarie.

Yuri was sitting on a wall overlooking the east side of Zaphias. The sun had almost set, and so a multitude of small lights were beginning to dot the darkened cityscape. Yuri was doing better. He still felt Clay’s absence like a punch to the gut, but his periodic conversations with Flynn had helped. He felt like he had traded one for the other. At the time of his life when he couldn’t stand by Flynn’s side, Yuri had Clay, and when Clay was gone Flynn returned as if nothing had changed.

But things had changed. Yuri knew he wasn’t the same person that had chased Clay from the city two years ago. He had seen so much death, and yet so much happiness. The smiles of relief when someone heard their tormentor was gone. The beautiful change in a neighborhood once a corrupt leader was disposed of. Clay had been doing what had to be done, and it was a good work.

Yuri had long since torn the letter Clay had written him to shreds, but he had read it so many times in his grief that he had it memorized. The only other written word Yuri had committed to memory was the knights’ oath.

_Your actions will instill fear in the unjust and give hope to the downtrodden._

Yuri knew what he had to do. He would go forward and carry on Clay’s legacy. He would just have to remember who he was meant to protect: Flynn and the people of the Lower Quarter. As long as he didn’t raise his sword against them with the intent to kill, he believed himself to be in the right.

“Yuri!”

Flynn was standing near the foot of the wall Yuri was lounging on. He was wearing more casual clothes, which meant that he wasn’t on duty. Yuri smirked at him before jumping down onto the street.

“Hey.”

“I’m glad I found you.” Flynn was very serious. “Something has come up, but we shouldn’t talk about it here.”

A bark rang out in the recently descended night. Repede had been running around in the nearby alleyways while Yuri had brooded, and now he was walking towards Yuri and Flynn.

“You can help me, too.” Flynn gave the dog a tight smile, and Repede wagged his tail in reply.

“We can talk in my room,” Yuri said.

As they walked to the inn, Flynn kept looking over his shoulder. He gave everyone they passed suspicious glances, even if it was a familiar face calling out a, “Good night, boys!”

This couldn’t be good.  Flynn had been given a light schedule after his major trek outside of the barrier, and he had told Yuri he was going to spend his free time looking into something unofficial.

Yuri unlocked the door to his small room, and Repede bounded inside before settling down onto Yuri’s bed. Yuri raised his eyebrows at the dog before going in himself and leaning against the windowsill. Flynn looked up and down the hall before closing the door firmly and locking the deadbolt.

“Remember how I told I was investigating something?”

“Yeah, and you wouldn’t let me in on it,” Yuri said begrudgingly.

Flynn gave Yuri a pointed look. “You’re supposed to be laying low. I’m only cutting you in now because I need you.”

“The Great Flynn needs _my_ help?” Yuri smirked.

“Yuri.” Flynn wasn’t in the mood to banter.

“Fine. I’m all ears.”

Flynn started to pace in the confined space of the room. “There’s been a string of blastia thefts all over Zaphias for the past three months. The thefts happen seemingly at random and have affected every class of citizen. No matter how many times the thefts are reported, nothing is actually done about it. No knight has been assigned to investigate. Even when a powerful noble family reports a theft, nothing is done.”

Yuri had noticed places where blastia had been absent. Street lights that didn’t work. Pollution getting worse. He had assumed it was because the blastia had been malfunctioning. Yuri supposed the Lower Quarter was lucky, for once. They had so few blastia that a theft would be impossible to completely ignore.

“So, why do you need me now? And what’s with all the secrecy?”

“I finally got somewhere in my investigation. One of my subordinates had guard duty at the gate, and caught a man with fake papers claiming he was an Imperial mage. He had a couple of stolen blastia on him, and we couldn’t find his face in any of the records of Imperial citizens.”

“He was from the Union?”

Flynn nodded. “I managed to interrogate him and got him to tell me that he was working for Ruin’s Gate. He was a sniveling mess. Kept telling me that he didn’t want to die, even though we didn’t threaten him with execution. I couldn’t get anything else out of him because the third Captain sent out an order for his release.”

“Third Captain? Is that still Warren Agrioli? He was in the Council’s back pocket.”

“Unfortunately, yes. You can see how see how deep this runs. That’s not the worst of it, either. I was supposed to have a month in the city before another major assignment, but I got a message earlier today dispatching me to Halure because the barrier is down over there. A much higher ranking officer in the Schwann brigade was assigned to the mission until it was suddenly transferred to me. The higher ups want me out of the city by tomorrow morning.” Flynn finally stopped pacing and collapsed on Yuri’s bed next to Repede. The dog whined and put his head on top of Flynn’s thigh in solidarity.

“You want me to start digging around?” Yuri had to admit that he was angry for Flynn, but he was also intrigued by the situation.

Flynn sighed. “I would rather not ask you. If you’re caught—“

“I can handle myself, Flynn. Have some confidence in me.” Yuri gave his friend a small smile.

Flynn dug a piece of parchment from his pocket, and Yuri got up and took it from him. Yuri unfolded the note and found a list of very familiar surnames written out in Flynn’s neat handwriting. The names _Randell_ and _Furlan_ were circled.

“That’s a list of the seven most powerful noble families in Zaphias. The two that are circled are the ones that haven’t had blastia stolen from them. Both families have influential members in the council. If I wasn’t leaving the city I would go investigate their main branch households.”

“Breaking and entering? How the mighty have fallen.”

Flynn gave Yuri a deadpan look. “Shut up.”

Yuri laughed. “I have to ask. If I get evidence, there’s not much you can do with it. It's not going to hold up in court, right?"

“It won’t. But if I bring enough incriminating evidence to Captain Andrey he might be able to do something about it.”

Yuri and Flynn had been assigned to Captain Andrey’s brigade. Even though Terrence had been a disgusting example of humanity, Captain Andrey had a reputation of being an honest man. Yuri still didn’t like the ‘might,’ though. 

“I’ll help. If this investigation goes well I might be speaking with the next Commandant.”

A wide smile spread across Flynn’s face at that. “We’ll see about that. First, I have to survive Halure. My unit isn’t large enough to defend the town, and I only have a few mages. The higher ups didn’t bother to assign me more men for the job.”

“Now you’re making me want to come with you and watch your back.”

“Don’t worry about it, Yuri. I have a resourceful second. She keeps me out of trouble. You’re doing a lot for me by looking into this. Just be careful.”

“What is that, the second time you’ve told me? I’ll be fine. I have a resourceful second of my own.” Yuri smirked at Repede, who lifted his head from Flynn’s lap and barked smugly.

Flynn scratched behind Repede’s ear. “I can’t argue with that.” Flynn ran a hand through his hair before getting up from the bed. “I have to go and start getting my men in order.”

“Good luck, Flynn.”

“Thanks. I’ll see you when I get back into the city, and you can tell me what you found.” Flynn gave Yuri a crooked grin before he unlocked and opened the door. He spared one more parting glance before closing the door with a snap. 

Yuri looked down at the list Flynn had given him. He hadn’t known what his next step should be, but this was as good as any. He wanted to help Flynn, but he also might find someone to take care of along the way. What better way was there to find the dregs of humanity than through investigating a government conspiracy?

“Come on, Repede. We have work to do.”

~2~

A slow ringing started up in the night. Yuri was perched in a tree on the Randell family's estate. There were few household guards patrolling and not a single window of the mansion was lit up. Repede was slinking through the nearby garden.

Yuri hopped down from the tree. It had just turned three in the morning. It had taken Yuri a while to find the main branches of the Randell and Furlan families since there were countless mansions with those family names worked into their gates. He had decided to investigate the Randell mansion first.

The yard of the two story mansion was immaculate, but it wasn’t very well lit. Yuri quickly cut across it and shifted into the shadows by a small back door that was probably a servants' entrance. He tried the doorknob and smirked when it was unlocked. _Negligence at its finest._

The door opened silently, and Repede sprinted from the garden and into the house. He'd let Yuri know if anyone was awake and moving around. A moment later Repede appeared in the doorway and nudged Yuri's leg with his head. The coast was clear.

As he softly closed the door, Yuri was greeted by the sight of an empty kitchen. His best bet would be to find the resident lord's office. It would mean shifting through documents and trying to find hidden compartments, but it was what he'd signed up for. Yuri walked into a huge dining room. The table looked like it could easily sit fifty people. His lip curled in disgust at the extravagance.

Repede stopped walking and lifted his ears in attention. Yuri froze at the sight. Repede turned towards the way they’d entered and let out a quiet growl that jumpstarted Yuri's movements. He rushed from the dining room and into a carpeted hall. He opened the first door he found and slipped into what appeared to be a sitting room.

A couple of moments later, Yuri heard soft footsteps walking down the hall. He hoped Repede had found cover. The footsteps stopped right in front of the door. _The place had been clear! Who the hell was this?_ The doorknob started to turn, and so Yuri pressed himself into the shadows of the room and put his hand on the hilt of his sword.

The door revealed a man who wasn't wearing a guard's uniform. All Yuri could make out in the dim light was long hair thrown into a messy ponytail and a bulky form. The man stopped in the doorway and paused. Yuri could feel the hair stand up on the back of his neck. He could swear the guy was looking right at him. Yuri heard a chuckle fill the dead silent air before the man stepped back into the hall and softly closed the door. Yuri let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. _What had that been about?_ Whoever he was had known Yuri was there. He had even laughed at Yuri, but the man had made no move to stop him.

With his sword held close and ready to draw, Yuri stepped out of the shadows. He could give this whole thing up as a bad job and try again another night, but if that weirdo reported to someone what he saw then the security would be a lot tighter the next time. Yuri would just have to press on and keep an eye out for the chuckling nut job. Yuri stopped in front of the door to the hall and listened. When no footsteps greeted his ears, he peeked into the hall before slipping into it. He made a careful dash to the stairs and was pleased when Repede met up with him.

Yuri needed to find the office. He knew it was upstairs from watching the house earlier in the night. He had seen from the tree he had lurked in that it was in one of the upstairs rooms. Yuri stopped short when he saw that one of the doors was ajar, and light was pouring from it. Repede started to growl again. _Just great._

From the cracked open door Yuri saw that the man with the ponytail was shifting through the office. Yuri couldn't believe it. This guy was an intruder, too, and it looked like he was here for similar reasons. The other intruder stopped his digging and turned to face the door. Yuri saw that he wasn't actually bulky but was wearing an oversized coat. He was also older than Yuri had previously assumed.

"Ya comin' in or not?" the man whispered.

Yuri almost fell over. This guy was bizarre.

"Yer pretty shy fer a thief." The weirdo had an accent that Yuri hadn’t heard since the last time he’d been in Dahngrest. Someone from the Union was digging around, too. This conspiracy was just getting more convoluted by the minute.

Yuri burst into the room, Repede following closely behind him. "I'm not a thief!" he harshly whispered in reply. "I'm here for the same reason you are."

The insane intruder was grinning at Yuri. "How d'ya know I ain't a thief?"

"There's nothing but paper in this room."

The other intruder put his hand on his chin. "Oh, yer a sharp one. Bit loud, though. Ya gotta work on yer sneakin'."

"I'm loud? You're the one that just started a conversation."

“Ya coulda ignored me, or ya coulda just come in and given me the silent stranger treatment. Ya got the right look fer it. Now I don't know about ya, but I don't got all night." The eccentric man went back to shifting through the desk.

Yuri rolled his eyes. This madman was the one that had started talking to Yuri and now he was complaining about time. Yuri walked over to the desk and saw the man with the oversized coat checking for false bottoms in the drawers. He _had_ to be looking for information about the bastia thefts.

"I don't bite, ya know. Well, not if ya want me to,” he whispered as he looked up at Yuri and wiggled his eyebrows.

Yuri raised his. This was the last place he had ever expected to be flirted with.

"But really, don't just stand there. We can help each other out, one spy ta another." A lopsided grin spread across his fellow intruder's face.

Yuri approached the desk, but the man made no move to try and attack. Repede would have his back if this guy tried anything. Yuri started working through the other side of the desk and smirked when he found a false bottom. A leather folder and a couple of letters sat in the compartment. Yuri pulled them out and put them on the top of the desk.

"Would ya look at that." The strange man grabbed one of the letters and held it close to the oil lamp so he could read it.

Yuri opened up the folder and saw a list of what looked like shipping logs. Weight and number were written next to a name, all of which were strange and probably codenames. Yuri moved closer to the lamp in order to read the cramped writing of the descriptions of what was being shipped.

The man with the ponytail peaked over Yuri’s shoulder before chuckling and saying, "Ya found the crown jewel. That looks like a log a stolen blastia ta me. Now look at the signature at the end a this." His fellow intruder shoved the letter he’d been perusing under Yuri’s nose. An intricately signed _RF_ filled the bottom of the letter. “I’d bet good money that’s Ragou Furlan’s initials.”

The Furlan family _was_ involved in this. Yuri wasn’t too sure where this guy had pulled the name Ragou from, though. Repede started growling again. His ears were pressed back, and he was facing the door of the room.

“Looks like our time is up, kid.” The strange man put the letter down onto the desk and picked up two nearby books. He set the edges of them on fire using the lamp and tossed them both out of the door of the office.

“What the hell are you doing?” Yuri demanded. This is what he got for trusting some nut job.

“Coverin’ my escape.” The man broke open a stain glassed door that led out onto the balcony.

Yuri picked the letters up from the desk and shoved them in between the pages of the leather logbook. Smoke was started to pour in from the hallway, and Yuri could hear raised voices in the mansion. He wouldn’t be going out the way that he came.

He and Repede went out onto the balcony. There was a large tree nearby, and one of its thick boughs was less than a foot away from the balcony. Yuri could see the insane man climbing down.

“I’ll help you, Repede,” Yuri told his canine companion. He set the folder down and helped Repede up onto the thick stone railing of the balcony before the dog jumped. There was a moment when Yuri thought he would slip off the branch, but Repede managed to dig his claws firmly into the bark.

“Can you make it on your own?”

Repede barked weakly before starting his treacherous decent. If Repede got hurt, Yuri was going to break that insane bastard’s neck for starting a fire in the middle of Yuri’s escape route. Yuri grabbed the folder and jumped onto the branch just as an ear splitting cry filled the night. Yuri could see the orange light of flames coming from the office windows.

Both Repede and Yuri made it to the ground safely. The insane man had disappeared but came rushing back around the corner of the mansion. “There’s a whole platoon a knights lyin’ in wait outside a the grounds! Someone musta tipped ‘em off.”

Yuri’s heart sped up. If he got caught, things would end very badly.

“I got a plan. Just follow my lead,” the man with the oversized coat reassured Yuri.

“Why the hell should I do that?” Yuri snarled.

“Ya could do yer own thing, and then we can both end up in a prison cell gettin’ our fingernails torn out by some psychopath.”

Yuri had little choice but to go along, as knights were approaching them from both sides. “Fine.”

“Make like yer gonna surrender.” The eccentric man moved closer to Yuri and stood back to back with him as knights surrounded them in a circle. Spears were pointed at the three of them, and Yuri saw no escape.

“You’re under arrest in the name of the Emperor!” a well decorated knight proclaimed. He must have been the officer of the group.

“What Emperor? The throne is empty!” Yuri sneered. He had to step back into his fellow criminal when a spear was jabbed at him for the comment.

“Drop your weapons and come quietly!” the officer shouted.

A loud _pop_ filled the night, and Yuri’s sight was blinded by stinging smoke. He heard Repede whine and found himself being half dragged out of the midst of the smoke. The man in the oversized coat pushed Yuri towards a tree and began climbing it. Yuri scampered up the side of the tree and hurried to the highest branches. When he made it to the top he saw a haze of smoke and a group of coughing and befuddled knights swearing below him. He noted that Repede had slipped into the bushes and was most likely making his way to the small hole he’d used to get onto the grounds in the first place. The crafty man was a few branches below Yuri.

To Yuri’s surprise, no one bothered to look up when the officer ordered his men to search the area. Once the area around the tree was clear of the knights, the man with the ponytail climbed toward the wall surrounding the estate before hopping down onto it and into the street. Yuri followed suit.

Yuri landed in a crouch. The moment he got onto the street a shout sounded at the end of the block. A group of knights had spotted them. The strange man swore and started running, and Yuri tore after him with the folder clutched closely to his side. The knights were right on their heels, and so it took a long string of twists and turns before Yuri finally lost sight of them.

The two of them skidded to a stop in a smelly alleyway in the Public Quarter. His fellow escapee was braced against the stone wall and gasping for breath.

“That was too much runnin’ for an old man like me,” he wheezed.

Yuri laughed in relief. He had really thought he was done for. Now he just needed to find Repede. “I don’t know whether to thank you or call you an asshole.”

The older man gave Yuri another lopsided grin. “Ya could say, ‘Thanks, ya asshole’ and knock out two birds with one stone.”

Yuri smirked at him. “You need another look at these?” He waved the folder.

“I’ve seen enough. I wasn’t even plannin’ ta take ‘em with me. Anyway, it’s been fun, but I gotta go. There’s more secrets out there just waitin’ fer me ta uncover.” The man pulled himself up from the wall.

“Wait. You have a name?” This guy might have been a weirdo, but he was a resourceful weirdo.

“They call me Raven. And who are ya, mysterious stranger?”

“I’m Yuri.”

“Tell ya what, Yuri. If yer ever in Dahngrest, ask around about me. Maybe the two a us could hook up.” Yuri could swear the guy was wiggling his eyebrows again, even though Yuri couldn’t make out his face very well in the dark alley.

Raven must have been able to make out Yuri’s indignant expression because he started chuckling. “See ya around, kid,” was his parting shot as he left Yuri standing in the alleyway with the leather folder clutched in a white knuckled grip.


	5. Three: Helping Hand

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the kudos and bookmarks, my lovely readers! I’m quite surprised anyone outside myself is enjoying this ridiculous fic.
> 
> Thank you to my longsuffering betas, StardustAndAsh and sarahannmarie.

Golden light streamed in from between ratty curtains. Yuri groggily cracked open his eyes. He was still muddled from last night’s excitement. It had been close. He didn’t want to think about what could have happened to him if he’d been arrested clutching the secret documents of a noble house in his hands. He still couldn’t figure out how the hell the knights had known. Had someone eavesdropped on his and Flynn’s conversation? Or had that man from Dahngrest been the one with the follower?

Repede sniffed at the door before he looked up and barked at Yuri. Yuri got up to let him out, but stopped when he spotted what Repede was examining. A small stack of letters sat just in front of the door of his room. He never got mail. He lifted them up before opening the door so that Repede could leave. The letters almost slipped from his hand when Yuri saw who they were addressed to. Three were written to Ragou Furlan and two to Wendy Furlan. There was only one person who could have slipped these under Yuri’s door, and Yuri was uncomfortable with the fact that Raven had so easily found where he lived.

The oldest letter was dated for four months ago, and the newest was only a week old. Yuri skimmed through them and found that Ragou Furlan was the governor of Capua Nor. From the missives it sounded like Ragou had a stranglehold on the town and was quite proud of the fact. The councilman was taxing the people to the bone and claimed to be planning a way to shut down access to the harbor town whenever he saw fit.

Yuri scowled at the papers. Nor had been fine when he had last passed through it, but a lot could change in a couple of months, as Yuri himself had often experienced. The most noteworthy information was subtle, but when combined with the more detailed letters from the Randell estate, Yuri was able to surmise that the majority of the stolen blastia were being moved through Ragou’s personal dock.

Flynn had only left a day ago, and Yuri didn’t have any reason to stick around Zaphias now that he had so much evidence. He would leave the city, catch up with Flynn, and travel to Capua Nor. Ragou’s boasting had made him ill, and he could hardly allow the councilman’s gross abuse of power to continue. He could do some more digging as well. The conspiracy didn’t end with Ragou. There was still the thief from the Union, and that strange man named Raven digging around in the middle of this. Yuri planned to uncover each link of the chain and take care of anyone he needed to along the way.

~3~

Yuri was a couple of miles from Deidon Hold when he and Repede stopped for the night, and there had been no sign of Flynn or his unit on the road. The world had been reduced to shadows and brilliant flashes of silver moonlight. Stars stretched across the sky, and he could hear the hooting of owls. The fire at the center of the camp burned a brilliant orange as Yuri finished off his dinner.

The hooting of the owls stopped as a sliver of light appeared in the black of the forest. Yuri’s eyes were drawn to it in an instant. He grabbed his sword but hesitated when he saw that the light was a person. An incredibly pale person who glowed silver in the moonlight. Yuri blinked a couple of times to clear his vision, but the tall silver entity didn’t disappear. It only continued to glide across the forest floor while making Yuri question his own sanity.

Long silver hair trailed behind the elegant apparition as it walked just outside of the camp. Yuri didn’t move a muscle, as the miraculous sight wasn’t paying him or Repede any mind. It walked forward with a purpose, its head held high. Yuri noticed that it had red eyes that glowed just as terrifyingly as the rest of it. A heart stopping moment passed before the silver-haired person passed back into the thick woods, their brilliant glow becoming a faint outline in the distance.

Yuri’s heart was hammering. This was the sort of thing a merchant in the Public Quarter would rant about after a couple of drinks to entertain their city friends. Yuri had never believed any of those stories about ghosts and nymphs and giant monsters. Yet what else could that thing have been? With the way it had glided through the woods, Yuri didn’t even know if it had been corporeal.

Repede was still lying down.

“Did you see that?” Yuri whispered.

Repede stared at Yuri for moment before turning his nose to the sky and barking.

The dull sound of wings beating filled the previous silence, and a wind blew Yuri’s hair back. A massive black shape was immerging from the top of the nearby trees and filling up the night sky. Yuri drew in a sharp breath at the sight. It was an enormous dragon and atop its back was the glowing being, dwarfed by the sheer size of the beast it rode. Yuri almost fell over as he tried to crane his neck to keep the fantastical pair in his sight, but in the end they flew beyond the edge of the trees where Yuri could no longer see them.

“Tell me you saw that,” Yuri said breathlessly.

Repede whined as he walked over to Yuri. He leaned against Yuri’s leg, and Yuri put his hand on Repede’s head.

“It’s alright. They’re gone.”

In all the time he’d spent traveling with Clay, Yuri had never seen anything quite like that.

~3~

A tree with luscious pink petals guarded over the sleepy town of Halure. Petals coated the street and the rooftops of the buildings. Yuri was quite sure he’d never seen so much pink in his life. The sun was setting, lighting the petals and the wooden buildings of the town with an orange tint. Yuri and Clay had never actually stayed in Halure during their travels, as the small town was full of gossipers and watchful eyes. Clay had told Yuri that keeping a secret in a place like Halure was impossible, and that if you had something to hide it was best to camp outside of the city.

Yuri was glad to not see the place under siege by a horde of monsters, but he was disappointed that Flynn was nowhere in sight. He had thought that he would have made better time than Flynn. His friend was traveling with an entire unit of knights, while Yuri only had Repede with him. Halure’s gossiping locals would come in handy as Yuri had no doubt they would practically line up to tell a stranger any exciting news about a wayward unit of knights.

As Yuri stepped further into Halure, he could feel eyes watching him. Repede even started growling, though Yuri calmed him with a hand on his head. If Repede scared off the locals then Yuri would never hear the story of where Flynn had gone.

Yuri wandered up to a storefront where a man with messy brown hair and a fake smile waited.

“Hey,” Yuri greeted, “I heard the barrier around here was down.”

The man’s smile morphed into something more genuine. “It was, but this amazing young woman healed the tree!”

 _Amazing young woman?_ That didn’t sound like Flynn. Yuri had a thought cross his mind that something had happened to Flynn and his knights on their way to Halure.

“What about the unit of knights that was dispatched here?” he asked.

“The knights were here. They were protecting us, but there just wasn’t enough of them to fight off the monsters with how aggressive they’ve been lately. Until that young woman cast that miraculous spell of hers, we all thought we’d have to evacuate to the Capital.”

It sounded like Yuri wasn’t the only one who’d seen something supernatural.

“The knights swooped right in after the tree was healed and carried off that young woman and her mage friend. The whole lot of them were headed west, probably off to Capua Nor. I really wished they would have let her stay longer, we didn’t even get to learn her name.”

Flynn had gone to Capua Nor? That didn’t make any sense. He would have had to report back to Zaphias after finishing his mission in Halure. The mysterious woman that the shopkeeper was raving on about might have had something to do with Flynn’s break in conduct.

“Now there’s these strange—“

“You have any gels for sale?” Yuri cut in. The shopkeeper was successfully distracted and saved Yuri from gossip about the next-door neighbor and who knows what else.

After buying a couple of apple gels, Yuri and Repede made their way to the inn. The inn was a quaint little building, just as coated in petals as the rest of the town, yet the sight in front of it was jarringly out of place.

A group of peculiar people were having an argument in front of the inn. A sneering man with a green hood covering his eyes stood next to a monster of a man who had a gigantic sword strapped to his back. The two were observing a girl with a massive curved weapon yelling at a boy with puffy brown hair. Some of the locals had stopped to watch, as if the group was putting on a show.

“You’re finished!” The girl’s voice was like ice.

The boy clutched the strap of the large bag he carried with him in a white knuckled grip. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!” he choked out.

“The Boss has already decided that you are no longer a member of the Hunting Blades. No amount of whining will change his mind. Now shut up! You’re causing a scene!”

The boy was almost in tears. “Please, Nan! I’ll do better next time, I promise! Boss, you have-“

“I thought Nan told you to shut it!” the sneering man snapped, stepping forward aggressively.

The giant man began to walk away, his steps heavy and measured.

“Come on, Nan, the Boss is leaving,” the hooded man growled before storming off as well.

“Nan, please,” the skinny kid begged.

Nan gave the sniveling boy in front of her one final searing look before turning around and walking away with the others. She didn’t even look back at the boy’s loud cry of, “Nan!”

The boy fell onto his hands and knees and began to sob as quietly as he could. The group walked past Yuri on their way out of the town. The large man was expressionless, the hooded man looked pleased, and the girl’s face was a storm of emotions.

Yuri had hardly expected to see such drama unfolding right before his eyes. He noted with disgust that the locals were going their separate ways, some of them even stepping around the crying boy as they went on their way. They were probably doing so because the kid and his ex-associates were obviously Union members from their speech and style of clothes. The people of the Guilds had a bad reputation in the Empire, and the stigma against them was so great that the locals weren’t even moved by the sight of a crying child.

With a shake of his head, Yuri walked over to the kid. It wasn’t often that he stuck his nose into other people’s business, but it would be plain cruelty to just leave him like he was.

“Hey, you look like you could use a drink.” Yuri almost kicked himself. The skinny boy was hardly old enough for alcohol. This was exactly why he shouldn’t try comforting people.

The boy shot up onto his feet the moment Yuri finished his awkward statement. He turned to face Yuri, his large brown eyes glistening. His mouth was moving up and down as if he was trying to say something.

“We could at least get out of the middle of the street,” Yuri muttered to the gaping child.

The boy was even more surprised that Yuri was actually speaking to him and quickly turned away and rushed off to hide behind a nearby tree. Yuri resisted the urge to sigh. He should probably quit while he was ahead. He turned away from where the boy was hiding and began to leave.

“W-wait!”

Yuri turned back to see that the child was peering out from behind the tree and looking right at him. “I-I like s-soda,” he stuttered as he slowly stepped out from behind the tree.

Yuri almost started laughing. He couldn’t believe his terrible attempt at comfort had actually reached the kid. “Sounds good to me,” he said as he met the nervous boy halfway in the street.

The two of them awkwardly stood in front of each other for a few moments before Yuri said, “I was going to go get a room at the inn. There should be a place to get food and drinks inside.”

The boy nodded more times than was necessary and charged toward the entrance of the inn. As Yuri followed at a more sedate pace, he noticed Repede still lying by the stairs of the inn. The dog had his eye open and was giving Yuri a look that clearly said, “You’ve got to be joking.” Yuri simply glared back at the dog and continued trudging up the stairs.

The jittery kid was standing inside the inn’s restaurant and peering at everything. He was biting his lip and clutching the strap of his oversized bag in a death grip. When Yuri entered, he jumped a little and stared at the dark haired swordsman with wide eyes. Yuri couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows at the kid and went to go sit at the small bar.

Once the two of them had sat down and the boy managed to stutter out his order, Yuri introduced himself, “Name’s Yuri Lowell. You look terrible, kid.”

The kid put a hand on his face. “Y-yeah, I know. I-I m-mean, it’s p-pretty embarrassing to cry in p-public like that. M-my name is Karol C-capel, b-by the way.” The boy had gotten red at the reference to crying in public, though he spoke and acted like he was doing his best not to start crying again.

“Glad I could help,” Yuri grunted inelegantly.

The two of them sat in silence until Karol’s drink arrived. The bar tender was scowling at the two of them for only ordering a soda. Yuri just scowled back at the man while Karol looked as if he might faint. After recovering from his fear of the bartender, Karol began to slowly start drinking his soda. Yuri didn’t want to start drilling the kid with questions, though he was curious. Karol was a bit young to be left on his own, and Yuri didn’t want to leave a scared kid from the Guilds in the middle of Imperial territory.

“Are you heading back to Dahngrest? I’m heading over to Capua Nor, but it’s just going to be me and my dog, Repede. I could use a little back up and some company on the hike over, if you’d like to come.” Yuri and Repede honestly didn’t need any backup, but Karol might feel better if Yuri made it out like he needed the boy’s help.

Karol’s eyes were impossibly big again. He was gaping up at Yuri with the strange mix of terror and excitement that he seemed to regard everything.  “I-I hadn’t even thought about what to do next, but I p-probably should go back home.” Karol scrunched up his face in confusion. “H-how did you know I’m from Dahngrest?”

“’The Hunting Blades’ sounds like a guild’s name to me. It was a little obvious,” Yuri said.

A stricken expression crossed Karol’s face at the mention of the guild, and Yuri half expected him to start crying again. Instead he straightened out his expression before puffing up his chest in a ridiculous effort to look confident.

“I would be happy to help you out on your travels. A master swordsman like me will make every battle a piece of cake!”

Yuri fought the urge to grin at the kid, or even laugh. It was incredibly obvious that his arrogant façade was a poor attempt at hiding how completely terrified he was of pretty much everything. Well, at least Yuri would a have a source of entertainment on his way to Capua Nor.

“I’d be honored to have you come along,” Yuri replied with a wry smile.  

Karol just puffed up even more at the statement. It was getting incredibly hard for Yuri not to break down laughing at Karol’s antics. He supposed ridiculous arrogance was better than crying. He could deal with it a lot better, for one thing.

“Now finish up your drink,” Yuri said before getting off of his bar stool and leaving a couple of pieces of gald on the counter. “I’m going to go rent a room. You can bunk with me if you want.”

“W-wait!” Karol exclaimed for the second time that night. “T-thank you,” he stuttered quietly, looking down.

“No problem, kid.”


	6. Four: Coward’s Honor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is the closest this story gets to canon events, so I hope it won’t be too dull. Also, Raven will show up again in the sixth chapter, and then he’ll be here to stay for a long while.  
> All my love to my beta, StardustAndAsh.

A soft muttering drew Yuri out of his late morning doze. He opened his eyes to see the cracked ceiling of his room at the inn, and in an instant he was on his feet, his sword drawn and ready. A terrified shriek filled the room, followed by a crash.

Karol was lying on the ground, a heavy book strewn over his chest. Quite a few lose papers were settling on the floor from the boy’s fall. Yuri sheathed his sword.

“Sorry about that.”

“I-it’s alright.” Karol slowly got up, pulling the book into his lap. His chest was still heaving from his fright.

“Where’d you get that from?” Yuri found himself asking. As far as he knew, Karol only had one bag. He wouldn’t have had room to be lugging a book of that size around with him.

“It’s mine!” the boy exclaimed, a wide smile spreading across his face and lighting up his eyes with a genuine enthusiasm that Yuri had yet to see. “It’s my Monster Book.”

“Monster Book?”

“Yeah, I record all sorts of cool info about monsters in it. I was working on it because I’d been in the Hunting Blades for a couple of months and--“ Karol cut himself off as a terrible frown marred his face. Tears shone in his eyes, but he gulped and bit them back. “A-anyway, it’s not anywhere near done, but I bet I’ll find all sorts of crazy monsters on the way back to Dahngrest.” He did his best to smile, though Yuri could see fear hiding in the kid’s eyes, probably at the thought of meeting ‘crazy monsters.’

“I’m going to go get my sword looked at. You need anything?” Yuri asked as he straightened out his clothes and tried to fix his hair.

Karol mouth fell open in surprise. “N-no. I have enough gels and bottles to keep me going for a while.” 

“I’ll meet you at the town’s exit by noon, then.” Yuri finished brushing his hair and made his way out of the room.

After having his sword sharpened and buying a few more gels and bottles, Yuri headed to the exit of Halure. The small village was endearing in its own way, but he had to admit that he was getting tired of seeing so much pink and constantly being followed by whispers. Word must have gotten around that Yuri was helping out a Union member, and now the people of Halure were giving him a wide berth.

Repede was waiting for him as usual, but Karol was nowhere to be seen. Yuri leaned against a nearby fence and waited. A half hour later the disheveled boy arrived, panting as he skidded to a stop at Yuri’s feet.

“S-sorry I’m late,” he choked out. “I lost track of time. I thought you might have left without me.” He glanced up at Yuri with wide eyes and a frown, as if he could barely believe Yuri had bothered to wait for him.

“I asked you to come with me. If you’d taken too long to get here, I would have gone back into town and made sure no one had murdered you when I wasn’t looking,” Yuri replied dryly.

Karol was gaping at him again. As amusing as it still was, Yuri knew it was going to get old fast. It was like Karol wasn’t used to being treated with any respect at all. He knew there had to be a _reason_ for that, but it was still pretty ridiculous.

Repede walked up to the boy, sniffing at him suspiciously. Yuri knew that his canine companion was none too happy that he’d decided to take Karol along. Repede let out a nasty sounding bark, causing Karol to cry out and fall back screaming, “No! Don’t eat me!”

Yuri couldn’t help but snort at Karol’s antics. Repede walked over to his side and gave a soft bark that was meant to show his complete disapproval of their new companion. Karol had stopped rolling around on the ground and was blinking owlishly up at Yuri.

“Remember that I told you I had a dog?”

Karol blushed furiously before getting up and brushing himself off.

“Karol, this is Repede.” Yuri motioned between the two of them. Repede let out another annoyed bark at the boy that had him jumping back in fear.

Yuri resisted rolling his eyes. “We need to get over to Capua Nor as soon as possible,” Yuri told Karol as he began to make his way out of the village.

Karol scurried to keep up with Yuri’s longer strides. “Wh-why are you going to Capua Nor? There’s not much there, unless you’re looking to cross over to Tolbyccia.”

“I need to give something to a friend of mine. I might do some digging around too.”

“Digging around? What are you investigating?”

“Imperial secrets.” Yuri gave Karol a mischievous smirk.

“I’ll do my best to help you investigate! I’m good at stuff like that!” Karol puffed his chest out again.

 “I bet you’ll be a great help.”

Karol beamed up at him, and Yuri’s smirk morphed into a small smile of his own.  

~4~

Yuri, Karol, and Repede had managed to make it all the way to Ehmed Hill without too much incident. The few monsters they’d run into had been easy enough for Yuri and Repede to take care of. Karol had mostly hung back in battle, and Yuri imagined he was very lucky Karol hadn’t run off. Karol had used the excuse of collecting information for his Monster Book to stay back, using magic lenses to better analyze the relatively weak creatures.

Yuri could understand why Karol seemed so used to other people’s disdain. Cowards were never given honor. In his opinion, it wasn’t that big of a deal. Repede and he were perfectly able to handle most anything that got thrown at them, and Karol was still just a kid. Yuri had a pretty good feeling that he’d grow out of it.

When the two of them entered the pass, a raging cry rang out. Yuri’s heart almost stopped, as the sound reminded him of the roar of the dragon he’d seen outside of Deidon Hold. A much smaller dragon than the beast Yuri had seen swooped down from the sky. Yuri saw a flash of white at the monster’s back before a spear flew through the air. It hurled towards the barrier blastia before an explosion rocked the area.

The world was reduced to a high pitched ringing and a spinning blur. Yuri slowly got up from the ground as his senses came back to him. Karol had been thrown farther back than him and was knocked out while Repede whimpered nearby.

The barrier blastia was shattered into pieces. It lay across the road, the massive structure blocking further progress. Yuri didn’t understand. Why would anyone destroy a barrier blastia? It made even less sense that the vandal had been riding on a dragon, but Yuri had a feeling this might have something to do with the glowing creature he’d seen wandering the woods.

Karol started to groan, effectively knocking Yuri out of his daze. After seeing that Repede was alright, Yuri went over to help Karol up.

“Wh-what happened?” Karol appeared to be unhurt.

“Someone just destroyed the barrier blastia.”

“Wh-what?” Karol’s eyes widened as he saw the wreck. “How are we going to get past?”

“We’ll have to go the long way around.” Yuri motioned to the surrounding forest.

“B-but there’s monsters in there. Really, _really_ big ones.”

Yuri shrugged. “You can head back to Halure and wait for this to be cleared away if you’d like.”

“N-no! I’ll go!”

“After you.” Yuri motioned to the woods, and Karol glanced between Yuri and the trail nervously before charging into the tree cover. 

“Why would someone destroy the barrier?” Karol spoke up after a long stretch of silence that had been blessedly free of monster attacks. Repede had gone deeper into the woods, probably looking for dinner.

“It might have been a member of an anti-Imperial group.” Yuri had heard about them when he was traveling with Clay. Most of them depended on terror tactics to undermine the government, with little regard for who was hit by the collateral. A group like that might have been involved, but Yuri was mostly putting out the theory because he still wasn’t sure how much of what he’s seen outside of Deidon Hold was real.

“I saw a group rallying about that in Dahngrest, there was this Krityan guy leading it. Th-they were all so angry.” Karol shivered at the memory. “Before they could start anything, a group of Altosk agents came and arrested a bunch of them.”

“A Krityan?” Yuri had seen a few members of the strange race in Zaphias. They had been mages and scholars and curious tourists. They had all appeared to be as harmless as a rabbit.

“Yeah, he started talking about blastia right before Altosk showed up. He said they were evil.”

“The guy was probably just a nut job.”

Before Karol could reply, Repede came charging out from some of the heavier tree cover. He growled viciously and turned around, his dagger held in his mouth. A swarm of large bugs came flying after him, swooping down and trying to hurt the dog.

Karol let out a terrified cry at the sight of the bugs and looked about ready to run. Yuri drew his sword, and he and Repede made quick work of the swarm, a small pile of gruesome bug carcasses lying around them.

A ferocious growl rang out as a black wolf type monster burst from the underbrush, jumping for Yuri’s neck. Before him or Repede could do anything, a large, red, and broken sword came down upon the monster, killing it instantly. Karol was holding the massive half-sword, panting slightly. His eyes were wide, his face was pale, and his legs were shaking uncontrollably.

“Nice going!” Yuri’s praise was completely genuine this time. “I would have been dead.”

Karol composed himself, awkwardly cleaning the broken sword before putting it back into the bag he carried with him.

“I-I…” Karol was floundering again, though he did look much less pale. “I’ve n-never done that b-before,” he muttered to himself, staring at the ground with slightly furrowed eyebrows.

“We should keep moving.” Yuri didn’t want the kid to have a breakdown in the middle of monster infested territory. He also really didn’t want to think about the implications of Karol saving his life.

The two of them continued in silence for a while, only running into a couple more battles, none of which included any more bugs. Repede stayed by Yuri’s side regardless, not wanting to risk getting overtaken again.

The three arrived in a large clearing that was suspiciously empty. Repede let out a growl as they entered it. Before they could make it to the other end, a wolf type monster with red paws appeared on the ledge next to the clearing, snarling imposingly. It was massive and stood almost as tall the surrounding trees. The monster jumped down, effectively blocking their exit.

Yuri and Repede pulled out their weapons and got into battle stances, Karol only hesitating slightly before following suit.

The monster charged, its fangs shining in the afternoon light as it lunged for Yuri. He dodged and made a shallow cut along the monster’s side. This only made it angrier, and it swept a massive paw at Repede. The dog didn’t jump away in time and was knocked back with a pained yelp. Yuri weaved his way past deadly claws and fangs to try and help Repede.

Karol was doing his best to distract it, though from his badly shaking knees Yuri highly doubted he’d last much longer. Yuri reached Repede as the dog managed to drag himself back onto his paws. Yuri slipped the dog the gel he’d gotten out and then immediately jumped back into the fray.

A bloody gash decorated the monster’s face after it suffered a hit from Karol. It was even angrier than before and roared ferociously at him. Karol dropped his sword and bolted.

Yuri succeeded in making a deep slash across the monster’s left hind leg, effectively drawing its attention away from the retreating boy. Repede had jumped back into the battle, and now the two of them did their best to finish the creature off.

Repede slashed it near its neck but was trampled on for his success. Yuri was too busy dodging the monster’s wild tail to help the dog out. He hoped that Repede would be alright.

Yuri dodged long enough for the huge wolf to begin to slow down because of its wounds. He fired off three Azure Edges at the monster, hoping to push it to its last legs. The blue masses of energy broke through the monster’s defenses, two of them hitting their mark.

When the break in the monster’s defense showed itself, Yuri charged forward and thrust his sword into the monster’s heart. The creature gave out one final snarling breath before falling over.

Repede walked over and barked roughly. He was visibly panting, and Yuri handed him a gel before taking a few himself. He felt the exhaustion of battle recede immediately.

Yuri went over to the monster and pulled his sword out of its body, doing his best to not get too much blood on himself. After cleaning and sheathing his sword, he walked over to where Karol’s discarded weapon lay. Yuri found that he couldn’t pick the broken sword up with one hand, and it was still incredibly hard with two. He was honestly surprised at how physically strong Karol had to be in order to lug around something so heavy.

Repede let out another rough bark, motioning with his head to a path that led up the hill. Yuri abandoned the sword where it lay to follow Repede’s instructions, and soon found himself faced with a gorgeous view.

The ocean stretched on before him, glistening in the late afternoon light. The hill broke off into a steep cliff face, giving anyone who stood upon it a great viewing point. The beauty of it was somewhat ruined by the soft sniffling he could hear off to his left.

Karol was sitting near the edge of the cliff, his knees drawn to his face. He was shaking and crying quietly. When Yuri got close to him, the boy visibly stiffened, almost as if he expected to be hit. When no blows came upon him, Karol turned around to face Yuri.

“You alright?” Yuri asked awkwardly. He really hated it when people started crying on him.

Karol’s glossy brown eyes widened at Yuri’s question. “Y-you’re a-asking if I-I’m alright? Y-you’re the one that n-nearly died because I’m useless!” Karol’s voice was cracking.

Yuri honestly hadn’t understood why the boy was crying until then. “You think I’m mad that you bailed out? I’m more surprised that you didn’t do it earlier. Besides, don’t you think doing one heroic deed a day is enough?”

“H-heroic!” Karol’s eyebrows drew together. “You could have died! And I would have just been sitting here! Why aren’t you angry at me?!” Karol flew up from where he sat, both of his hands clenched into fists.

“You saved my life once today. I just returned the favor. Anyway, I’m fine, and so is Repede. We can handle things on our own.” Yuri waved his hand dismissively.

Karol didn’t protest anymore as he stared down at his feet.

“You might want to go get your sword. It’s too heavy for me to lug over here,” Yuri commented after a moment of silence.

Karol jumped out of his reverie and gave Yuri another look like he could barely believe that Yuri was real, before he rushed back down the hill.

“What are we going to do with him?” Yuri asked Repede in exasperation.

Repede let out an annoyed growl in reply, letting Yuri know that Karol was solely his problem.

“Thanks buddy,” Yuri drawled sarcastically.


	7. Five: Lily

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are finally starting to get interesting, or at least I can hope so. Thank you StardustAndAsh for being such a top notch beta.

 The area around the cliff didn’t appear to attract many monsters, so Yuri and Karol decided to set up camp there. Repede had also settled down to nap, and the chances of him moving were slim.

Yuri was collecting firewood, a large stack already resting in his arms.

“Yuri, do you need any help?” Karol’s eyes were as wide as ever.

 “Yeah sure, Captain, if you think you can handle it.”

Karol’s eyes looked about ready to pop out of his head. He scurried over to Yuri and began to help him carry the wood.

“W-why did you call me C-captain?” he squeaked out.

Yuri raised an eyebrow. “You’re Captain Karol, that’s why.”

He honestly just liked to give people nicknames, and maybe if he called Karol something that sounded respectful the kid would gain a little confidence. Regardless, the two words sounded good together.

“No one’s ever called me Captain before,” Karol mumbled.

“Better get used to it,” Yuri drawled.

Karol plopped the pieces he’d taken from Yuri onto the ground. Karol hovered near Yuri as he made a fire, biting his lip the whole time. As the flames began to spread, Yuri straightened out from his crouch.

“I really am sorry about running away. I p-promise I won’t do it again!” Karol blurted the moment Yuri stood up, squeezing his eyes shut.

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” Yuri said softly. Karol’s eyes flew open again. “Work to change yourself if you want to, but don’t do it for me or anyone else. And don’t build that change on empty promises. I already told you that I don’t care if you run off.”

Karol’s mouth open and closed, making him look like a fish.

Yuri wasn’t _trying_ to get the kid so worked up, but it seemed like Karol had gotten a lot of bad advice. Probably constant demands that he ‘sacrifice himself for the good of the guild’ or to ‘just be brave.’

“Man, I’m hungry. Let’s dig into the supplies we brought and make something half edible,” Yuri changed the subject. Karol had enough to mull over at this point, and his stomach _was_ starting to growl.

Karol jumped on the subject change like it was a lifesaver, and he hurried over to where their supplies sat.

Yuri and Karol were able to make a meal that was actually quite tasty. The two of them sat next to the fire with full stomachs. Repede had left camp to go find his own dinner and wouldn’t be back for a couple hours.

“I-I didn’t know you could cook,” Karol commented with some hesitation.

Yuri snorted. “I grew up without anyone I could rely on to cook for me, so I figured out how to do it myself.”

Karol was staring at Yuri again. He was quiet for a long time before asking, “S-so, you’re an orphan too then?” His voice was barely a whisper.

“Yeah. I spent the first seven years of my life in an orphanage. After that, my best friend and I took care of ourselves. My friend can’t cook for shit, so I had to do it.” Yuri wasn’t ashamed of his background, he just didn’t usually tell people about it.

Karol nodded. “Me too, except Nan always cooked for us.”

Yuri remembered the girl at Halure. If she was to Karol like Flynn was to him, then Yuri understood why Karol had been so upset when she abandoned him. The thought of Flynn giving him the same cold look sent a terrible feeling to the pit of Yuri’s stomach.

“Hey, do you want to add that crazy monster we fought today to that book of yours?” Yuri felt it was time for another subject change. He really needed to stop having so many serious conversations.

Karol immediately brightened at the mention of his Monster Book. He pulled the massive text out of his bag and flipped to a blank page. He starting writing quickly, occasionally asking Yuri about details he couldn’t quite remember.

Finally, after almost an hour of working on the Monster Book, the boy had fallen asleep. Yuri was about out of steam himself and decided to turn in for the night, as well.

~5~

Many hours later, Yuri awoke. The fire was completely out, but the light of the half-moon illuminated the campsite. Yuri sat up in a rush as he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. He cautiously looked around and froze when he spotted something.

Standing not too far away from him was the shining form of the silver person he’d seen in the woods. This close, Yuri could see that it was male. His hair was billowing in the sea breeze, and he was wearing dark clothing that made a striking contrast with his skin. He was standing in front of a small stone marker near the cliff that Yuri had noticed earlier in the night. Yuri had found it a strange place for a grave but hadn’t given it much thought. Now his mind was whirring, old superstitions from his childhood flaring up.

Before Yuri could try and grab his sword, the pale person turned to face him, his red eyes glowing unnervingly. Yuri couldn’t help but wonder if this was the end. Surprisingly, the creature didn’t attack, instead he just kept giving Yuri a dead stare.

Yuri scrambled to his feet and grabbed his sword. Karol was snoring happily away on his bedroll, and Repede was nowhere to be seen. Yuri was going to have to deal with this by himself. The entity barely reacted when he saw that Yuri was armed, as he turned back to face the ocean with complete unconcern. Yuri had a feeling that things would end badly for him if he attacked, so he kept his sword sheathed.

“Uh, hey there,” Yuri tried after many moments of silence. There was no way he’d be able to fall asleep again with an apparition hanging over him.

The pale creature turned back to stare at Yuri, his expression completely unreadable.

“No dragon this time?” Yuri asked with a deceptively wry tone.

The entity finally moved to face Yuri all the way. “Not many would choose to sleep in a place such as this.” His voice was incredibly deep.

Yuri shrugged. “It was as good as any. Unless you’re superstitious.” He motioned to the grave.

The entity had returned to giving Yuri an unblinking stare.

“You got a name?” Yuri grunted as he tried to figure out a way to get this apparition to leave. Karol let out a particularly loud snore behind him.

The pale man drew himself up, making his already impressive height even more intimidating. “Duke.”

“Well, I’m Yuri. Now that we got that out of the way, that wouldn’t happen to be your grave, would it?” Yuri motioned to the small stone marker with a slightly trembling hand.

Duke turned away from Yuri to face the marker. “It is, in a way.”

Before Yuri could say anything else, Duke began to walk away. Yuri felt a wave of relief fall over him as he saw the strange man disappear into the night.

“Yuri, what is it?” Karol mumbled from his bedroll. It looked like he had finally decided to wake up.

“Nothing, Captain. Go back to sleep.” Yuri was barely paying attention to Karol.

His eyes were riveted on the perfect white lily that now lay in front of the grave.

~5~

Capua Nor was a grey city with a muted atmosphere. All of the buildings had the same plain and bulky facades and were the same height, except for the luxurious mansion that loomed above everything else. The city was covered in a blanket of storm clouds, and rain had begun pouring down by the time Yuri, Karol, and Repede had walked through the barrier. The storm was strange. It was centered on the city as if some invisible force was anchoring it there.

Yuri’s eyes were trained on the mansion. He’d bet gald that that was where he’d find Ragou and a heap of stolen blastia, but first he needed to find Flynn and tell him what he’d found. Afterwards, he could go and do what had to be done.

“W-why is it raining?” Karol asked in dismay. He was trying to use his bag as an umbrella. “It wasn’t like this at all when I came over from Capua Torim with the H-hunting Blades a couple weeks ago.”

“Let’s get a room at the inn and get dry. I’ll go and ask around about a ship heading out to Torim.”

“I don’t think any ships will go out in weather like this,” Karol lamented just as a streak of lighting cut across the sky. A deafening roar of thunder followed soon after.

Repede rushed a little ahead of them and stopped right under the inn’s overhang before shaking himself dry. Any passersby cried out in dismay at the onslaught of water and glared at the dog.

Yuri smirked at his canine companion. “I’ll try and get them to let you inside.”

Repede let out a growl before sitting down on the slightly damp pavement. He was prepared for the worst. Yuri and Karol walked into the inn and added to the large puddle by the front door.

“Welcome!” A blonde girl rushed up to the two of them and offered dry towels. “We have rooms available, but they’re going fast! They’re 200 gald a night.”

“That’s a little steep,” Yuri commented as he began toweling his hair.

“We’re the only inn in town, and there aren’t any boats leaving with this storm. You can sleep in a tent if you’d like instead.” She gave Yuri a sickly sweet smile.

“Will you let a dog stay here?”

“No, it’s Empire mandate to keep animals out of the inns.”

Yuri put a hand on his hip and sighed. “I’ll take a room with two beds.”

“Thank you for your business!” she said as he handed her the gald. “Here’s your key for room 101. It’s up the stairs and to the left. Just ask if you need anything!” In moment she had bustled away, asking a group of people sitting in the inn’s lounge if they’d like anything to drink.

Karol had his own towel sitting on top of his head and was looking at the crowd in the inn with apprehension. “There sure are a lot of people stranded here.”

“I’m going to go look for a friend of mine,” Yuri said as he handed Karol the room key and his own bag. “Stake out the room for us.”

Karol bit his lip and nodded before rushing through the crowd. Yuri went up to the overly cheerful inn matron.

“Has there been a party of knights through here?”

“Oh yes! They rented out the whole top floor. I think they might have even had the princess with them.”

“Thanks,” Yuri waved off any offers of drinks and made his way up the stairs.

He was trying to figure out how a low ranking officer like Flynn had gotten mixed up with the princess. Yuri might have just gotten the wrong unit of knights, but he thought that the royalty factor would explain why Flynn had ended up in Nor instead of returning to the Capital.

When he turned the corner into the fourth floor hallway, he saw a female knight with orange hair and a kid wearing Imperial mage’s robes having an intense discussion.

“I could just go in there and start a fire!” The knight had a hand on her hip and a glower on her face.

“And get court marshalled! You’re a lot more useful to Flynn by staying here instead of being thrown into prison for arson.” The little mage was scowling up at her.

“We’re all going to be useless if we don’t find a way to stop what’s causing this storm!”

“I didn’t think anyone could control the weather,” Yuri blandly cut in.

Both of them spun to face Yuri. The mage’s eyes widened while the knight’s narrowed. “Who are you and what are youdoing here? This floor is off-limits to civilians!” she snarled.

Yuri raised his hand in a placating gesture. “I’m just here to see Flynn. I have some important information to pass onto him.”

The knight sized Yuri up with piercing purple eyes. Yuri was amused to see that Flynn’s subordinates were so protective of him.

The mage glanced between the two of them. “Sodia, we should just ask Flynn if he wants to see this guy.”

“Flynn is busy right now,” the knight easily dismissed her companion. “You still haven’t told us who you are, or who you work for since you’re obviously not a knight.”

“What he’s busy with wouldn’t have anything to do with stolen blastia, would it?”

The knight inhaled sharply. “How do you know about that?”

“Flynn let me in on it. Now, are you going to let me see him?” Yuri smirked.

One of the doors in the hall opened and two teenaged girls walked out. One had short pink hair and was dressed like a noble woman while the other was wearing bizarre red clothing and carrying an oversized book.

Both the mage and the knight turned to face them before bowing.

“Your highness,” the knight said. Her respectful tone was jarring after the viciousness she’d spouted at Yuri.

“Please, just call me Estellise,” the pink haired girl insisted. Yuri was looking forward to hearing how Flynn had gotten himself mixed up with the princess. 

The girl with the strange clothing stepped between the princess and everyone else. “Who’s this guy supposed to be?”

The mage and the knight turned back to face Yuri. “You’re still here?” the knight demanded.

Yuri raised his eyebrows. “I have important information that for some reason still hasn’t reached Flynn.”

The same door the two teenaged girls had walked out of opened again and a blond head poked into the hallway. Flynn had finally arrived like rain in the desert.

“What going on out here?” he asked with furrowed brows that morphed into surprise when his eyes landed on Yuri. “Yuri!”

Flynn stepped from the doorway and shifted through the small crowd in the hallway to reach his friend. “What are you doing here? I thought you’d still be in Zaphias taking care of things.”

“I finished early and got bored, so I came after you.” Yuri put his hand on his hip and a lazy smirk spread across his face. “You have a lot ladies with you. Was I interrupting something?”

Flynn laughed. “No, Yuri, I’m completely free. We can talk in my room.”

“Sir, who is this?” The knight was completely baffled.

“An old friend of mine. Don’t worry, Sodia, he’s not going to try and stab me.”

Flynn led Yuri through the group of people and gave a nod in recognition to the princess before ushering Yuri into the room and closing the door firmly behind him. He let out a sigh.

“Rough day?” Yuri drawled as he leaned against the wall.

Flynn shook his head. “Every time I turn around there’s something else going on, but that doesn’t matter right now. You said you finished, so does that mean you’ve gotten evidence?”

Yuri held up the leather folder he’d kept by his side since he left Zaphias. “It’s all right here.”

Flynn plucked the folder from Yuri’s grasp and sat down at the room’s small table. He pulled the folder open and began to peruse the shipping manifest and the letters.

“There’s more here than I thought there would be.”

“I had help.”

Flynn’s eyes flew up from the documents to rest on Yuri. “What?”

“When I snuck into the Randell place I ran into another guy who was snooping around. He was from the Guilds, and he helped me out. Someone knew that there’d be a break in, and we got swamped with knights. If he hadn’t been there, I probably would be in prison right now.”

Flynn’s attention was completely focused on Yuri now. “You were almost caught? How could they have known? I didn’t tell anyone that I was asking you to do this, Yuri, not even my second. And that man from the Guilds. He might have been from Ruin’s Gate, like the one my men caught at the gate.”

“I think the guy that helped me was the one who was set up, and I don’t think he was with Ruin’s Gate. He let me take the documents and didn’t even care that I was digging around.”

Flynn leaned back and sighed. “This is just getting more convoluted.”

Yuri smiled wryly. “It gets better. The governor of this city is a major player in all of this. He’s been moving the blastia into Guild territory.”

Flynn’s expression darkened. “That’s not the only thing he’s doing. He’s been abusing the people of this city since he took power, and now there’s this storm. It’s not natural, and I think he’s generating it somehow. I can’t do anything about it because this evidence is null, and I can’t charge into his estate with just conjectures.” Flynn put his head in his hands.

“We came all this way just to run into a brick wall, huh?” Yuri knew how he could fix this, but he wasn’t going to share it with Flynn. He didn’t want to get into an argument. Or arrested. “Are you going to tell me how you ended up with the princess in your care? I don’t think I’ve seen any royal guards since I got here.”

Flynn lifted his head from his hands. “That’s because there aren’t any. The princess left the Capital on her own initiative and completely in secret. No one in Zaphias knows where she is right now.” Flynn sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “She left because of me.”

“You?” Yuri smirked. “You’re not going to tell me you’re having an affair with royalty?”

Flynn flushed. “Of course not! I’ve gotten to know her over the past two years, but she’s _only_ a friend. She came because she overheard a couple of knights gossiping. Captain Warren has put out a hit on me. A group of assassins attacked my unit on our way here, but because of her warning we were ready and didn’t lose anyone.”

Yuri got out of his casual lean at that, his wry humor disappearing in an instant. “That bastard sent assassins after you?”

“It’s why I haven’t returned to Zaphias. If the third Captain of the knights wants me dead than the Capital is the worst place for me right now. I sent a message to my Captain telling him what’s going on, but I don’t know how much he’ll be able to do.”

Yuri had half a mind to turn around and rush back to Zaphias just so he could stab Warren Agrioli in the heart a few times for daring to try and have Flynn murdered.

“Don’t do anything rash,” Flynn cut into Yuri’s angry haze. “You have that look in your eyes that only ever leads to trouble.”

“Rash? He put a hit out on you! Why aren’t you angry about this?”

“I am angry but raging at the wall of my hotel room isn’t going to do anything. I’m as safe as I can be in Nor, and I have a chance of bringing down Ragou while I’m here. I’m not going to lie down and die, Yuri.”

“But you are just going to sit here and wait for someone to stab you!”

“Yuri.” Flynn got up. “I’m well protected here. My men are on all sides and my second has barely given me any privacy. Besides, the assassins were Guild agents and no one can come in from Tolbyccia with this storm raging on.”

Yuri was still scowling, but he allowed himself to calm down. There was a problem right here and now that he could take care of. “You said the governor was the one creating the storm. How can he control the weather?”

“The princess’ companion is a mage who studies blastia and aer properties. She thinks he’s using a Hermes blastia. It could be a modified version of one of the stolen ones.”

“And once again we can’t do anything about it.” At least they couldn’t do anything _legal_ about it. Tonight he would go and make sure Ragou wouldn’t be a problem anymore. “I rented a room on the second floor. I’ll be there if you need anything while we wait for everything to go to shit.”

“Yuri—“

Yuri waved Flynn’s words off. “I just got into town, and I’m tired. I’m going to go sleep. Try not to get stabbed in the meantime.”

Yuri opened the door to find the hallway empty.

“I’ll figure this out, Yuri,” Flynn said before Yuri slipped out the door.

Yuri was going to make sure Flynn didn’t need to. He was going to give Flynn a reason to go barging into Ragou’s mansion, he just had to make sure he didn’t get caught. Ragou would be the first official he killed in Clay’s stead. He could feel his heart beating erratically, but he clenched his fists and braced himself. He could do this.


	8. Six: Do What’s Right

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has murder and Raven in it. What more could you ask for?
> 
> At this point I’ve posted all the chapters I had ready to go. Updates will be more sporadic for now on. I will aim for monthly updates, but I can’t make any guarantees.
> 
> My gratitude to my beta, StardustAndAsh, for motivating me to actually describe things.

The hallway was poorly lit and smelt of dust and sweat. Muted giggling and drunken voices wafted from behind closed doors, a jarring contrast to the gloom that permeated the city. Yuri leaned against the wall next to a shabby looking door that read _101_ in tarnished brass numbers. Karol was waiting behind it, but Yuri couldn’t face him until he had a plan.

Killing Ragou was simply the first step. Yuri would need to destroy what was causing the storm, not just to free the oppressed, but to allow him to continue on to Capua Torim. According to the documents from the Randell estate, the blastia that were stolen from Zaphias had been shipped to Torim and beyond. If Yuri was going to root out all the major players in this conspiracy, he needed to go into Union territory. Leaving Flynn behind to clean up the mess was a necessary evil since Yuri wanted to wrap things up quickly. The sooner he flushed out this conspiracy, the sooner he could put Agrioli’s head on a pike for sending assassins after his best friend.

The only escape route to Torim was by boat, and the easiest way to have one ready when he needed it was to employ Karol’s help. Preparing and guarding a boat was something Yuri had done for Clay many times, and that was why he was lying in wait in the hall putting off the inevitable.

For the last year Yuri that had traveled with him, Clay had been preparing Yuri to take on his work. At the time Yuri hadn’t fully realized what was happening, but in hindsight it was glaringly obvious. Having Karol help him out left a bad taste in his mouth. Karol was just a kid, and Yuri wasn’t looking for a protégé. He couldn’t leave Karol behind, though. The image of the boy sobbing in that petal drenched street was still fresh in his mind. He would get Karol safe and sound to Dahngrest, and then he’d say his goodbyes. It would be for the best. For both of them.

One sharp knock on the door was all it took for it to fly open to reveal Karol smiling up at Yuri.

“I got dinner for us!” Karol puffed out his chest in pride.

“Nice going,” Yuri replied blandly as he entered the room. He had to keep up a wry façade so he could keep Karol from freaking out.

The room was as shabby as the hallway had been, but it smelled much better since steaming plates stacked with shellfish, rice, and pickled vegetables sat on the table. Karol practically jumped into a chair before digging in enthusiastically.

“I’m going to need your help with something tonight,” Yuri broached as he slipped into the chair across from Karol. 

Karol paused in stuffing his face to look at Yuri with furrowed brows. There was bits of seafood stuck to his cheeks.

“The storm around here is being generated by a blastia, and I’m going to stop it. I need a quick getaway before the knights come poking around. Can you get a small boat ready to go?”

Karol gulped down his half-chewed bite. “Y-you mean like steal one?”

“You have a problem with that?” Yuri glanced away from Karol’s face as he began serving his own plate.

“N-no. I mean I’m actually pretty good at stuff like that. I just don’t do it very often because people get so angry.”

“So you’re fear is just a farce to cover up the fact that you’re a master thief,” Yuri drawled even as a cold feeling filled his stomach. _I’ll rely on him just this once._

Karol blushed. “Of-of course not!”

Yuri took a bite of his dinner but couldn’t taste it. “So will you do it?”

“Yeah, I’ll do it!” Karol bit his lip. “Y-you’re really brave to try and stop what’s going on.”

“Am I? I’m just trying to do what’s right.” Yuri set his fork down. He really wasn’t hungry. “I’ll send Repede to keep an eye on you.”

“Will he even go with me?”

“He will if I ask him to.”

~6~

The governor’s mansion was a three story building surrounded by a garden so full of plants and statues that it was impossible to see the ground floor. The property was poorly lit, and the moon did little to drive off the darkness. No lights shined from the windows of the mansion, and the only guards Yuri had seen had stood at the front gate. A tall stone fence surrounded the property, and Yuri vaulted his way in when he came cross a damaged section. He shifted through the lush garden, keeping his footfalls soft on the pebbled trail that led to the house. Clay’s scarf was wrapped firmly around his neck, and Karol and Repede were safe at the docks acquiring a boat.

A rustling noise in the nearby bushes had Yuri snapping his head to the left. A man popped out of the bushes, leaves stuck to his messy hair and baggy clothing. Yuri froze where he stood, but the man began scurrying across the yard, paying Yuri no mind. He could hardly believe it, but it was Raven. He hadn’t expected to see the man again, and if Raven was poking around Ragou’s mansion, Yuri would have to be careful. This night could end in another blaze.

An elevator was built onto the side of the mansion, and it was guarded only by an intricate wrought iron gate. Raven skidded to stop in front of it and seamlessly pulled it back. Yuri’s feet moved of their own accord, and he just managed to squeeze in before the gate closed again with a soft _clank_. In an instant, a knife was pressed to Yuri’s neck.

Yuri began mentally berating himself for being such a trusting idiot, when Raven spoke up. His whispered voice brushed air against Yuri’s ear, “Well, look who it is.”

The knife was pulled away from his neck, and Yuri whirled around and put a hand on his sword. Raven had slipped his knife away and held both of his hands in front of him to show he was unarmed. “Sorry about that, kid. I thought ya were a mercenary. I gotta say, yer a better sneak than I thought. I didn’t even notice ya until ya jumped in here.”

“What are _you_ doing here, old man?” Yuri demanded, ready to draw at any moment. He felt static running across the back of his neck.

“I should be askin’ ya that. Ya know, we really gotta stop meetin’ like this. I was hopin’ we’d meet again in a nice bar with a bottle a wine between us.” Raven cracked a grin.

Yuri slowly let himself relax. He had to admit that if Raven was the one who had snuck up on him, he probably would have attacked first and asked questions later. He was lucky the older man hadn’t just slit his throat on instinct.

Raven’s grin wavered in the silence. “So, ya tryin’ ta break inta this place, too? I ain’t here fer information this time, so I don’t know if I can help ya out.”

“I’m not here for info either,” was Yuri’s quiet reply.

“Oh? And what are ya here fer then? Besides tryin’ ta give me a heart attack.”

“I’m not telling you anything, old man.”

Raven nodded, and despite his dead serious expression, Yuri had a feeling he was being mocked. “That’s good. Don’t tell anybody anythin’.” He pushed the button to get the elevator moving.

It was an uneven ride to the next floor, and Yuri kept his eyes firmly trained on Raven. Raven stared right back, the definition of unruffled. The elevator stopped, and the metal gate opened with another _clank._ Both men tensed up as they waited to see if there were any guards or servants around. When the coast was clear, Raven stepped softly out of the elevator, Yuri following closely.

The hallway was as posh as Yuri had expected, but a disquieting sense of anxiety permeated it. He scanned the darkened corners but saw nothing.

“I got my hands on blueprints fer this place, so I know where I need ta go. I could point ya in the right direction if ya’d drop me a hint,” Raven whispered.

Yuri tensed up. He didn’t know what Raven would do if he thought Yuri was going to murder someone. Raven could have another agent following him, though. Yuri didn’t want to have to copout at the last moment. “The governor’s bedroom.”

“It’s on this floor. Head down this hall and make a right when ya get ta the fork. His door is on the left. It’ll be easy ta spot since it’s the only one in the hall. Unfortunately that’s the opposite direction ta where I’m goin’, so I guess this is farewell. We should get a drink later and have a conversation when we’re not breakin’ and enterin’ fer a change.”

Yuri was floored by Raven’s easy response. He’d expected a string of questions and suspicion. “Maybe,” he whispered back.

The older man gave Yuri a wolfish grin before he turned and began to sneak down the hall. Yuri went in the opposite direction and shifted silently away, following Raven’s directions.

A few mercenaries had been patrolling the outside of the mansion, but the inside was completely deserted. All Yuri saw on his way to the room were statues and luscious tapestries. Ragou must have had the populace so cowed that he was unconcerned about break-ins. His trust in the fear he generated would be his downfall.

The door to Ragou’s room was carved and far more intricate than a door had any right to be. Yuri tried the handle and found it unlocked. He peeked inside and saw that the room was a little darker than the hall. He could hear the rattling noise of an old man snoring filling the dark space. That was good. This would be a clean kill.

Yuri snuck into the room, his heart pounding. He needed to calm down. This was a simple hit, and there was no doubt that the bastard lying a few feet away deserved a sword in the gut.  

He stopped at Ragou’s bedside and pulled out his blade. The sound of metal sliding against leather was thunderous in Yuri’s ears, but Ragou did not stir. Yuri drew his blade back and just as Ragou let out another snore, he plunged it downward into his heart. A strangled gasp followed and terror filled eyes peered up at Yuri. Even in the dark, Yuri could see blood beginning to spread through the blanket. Boney hands tried in vain to stop him.

“Why—“ Ragou rasped out as blood poured from his chest and trickled from his mouth.

“This is recompense for all that you’ve done,” Yuri replied mercilessly.

He pulled out his blade as the life drained from panic filled eyes. Yuri’s heart wasn’t racing anymore. He felt numb and watched the blood slowly spread across the bed for a few moments before an explosion rocked the mansion.

Yuri whipped around to face the doorway, his blood covered sword dripping onto the lush carpet. The entire city would have heard that. _What the hell had Raven done?_

He cleaned his sword in a hurry and sheathed it before rushing from the room and through the hall. Just as men began yelling inside the house, he was able to slip back into the elevator. Yuri pressed himself into the shadows of the lift as a group of mercenaries ran past. He waited a few moments before pressing the button to get the elevator moving and let out a breath as he slowly descended to the ground floor.

Knights were beginning to pour onto the mansion grounds when Yuri stepped out of the elevator. When he saw Flynn at the front of the group Yuri knew he had to run. He sprinted through the garden and vaulted over the half broken wall. He felt a pang of remorse as he landed on the hill outside of the mansion. If Raven was caught, then he’d be blamed for the murder Yuri had just committed.

Yuri closed his eyes for a moment and let out a breath. What happened to Raven wasn’t his problem. He opened his eyes to notice for the first time that the rain had stopped. The night sky was completely clear and the stars were shining.

A grunt disturbed Yuri’s awe. He turned around with his sword drawn but was surprised to see Raven climbing over the wall.

“Every time I run inta ya nothin’ goes the way it should,” he grumbled when he saw Yuri.

Yuri sheathed his sword. “I could say the same to you. I have to get going before the knights show up.”

“Me, too. Ya got a nice escape route ready that this old man could use?”

Yuri raised his eyebrows. “You don’t have your own?”

“I always find a way, like freeloadin’ off a other criminals.”

Yuri sighed. “I won’t stop you if you follow me, old man. Just try to keep up.”

Raven grinned, but before he could say anything, Yuri started to rush down the hill. He needed to get to the docks as quickly as possible and make sure he wasn’t seen near the mansion. Yuri couldn’t risk Flynn finding out the truth of what happened tonight. The thought of the disappointment that would fill his friend’s eyes sent a cold stab to Yuri’s stomach.

As Yuri slipped into an alleyway near the bottom of the hill, he could hear Raven’s soft footsteps following him. They sprinted through the streets and only had to pause to let a patrolling knight pass a few times. It looked like the bulk of Nor’s force had gathered at the mansion. The sharp and fishy smell of the ocean grew stronger as the alleyway Yuri rushed down opened out onto the docks. The masts of the boats moored around them made it look like some bizarre forest, even more so with how battered some of ships looked after months of disuse. Yuri started scanning the docks for signs of the flag Karol had said he would tie up to mark what boat he had ready.

“We’re takin’ a boat? Seems kinda shoddy. How would ya know if the storm woulda let up?”

Yuri huffed. “I was going to stop what was generating it, but you beat me to the punch. I would have been a lot quieter.”

“Hey, that explosion wasn’t my fault! Some crazy bastard on a dragon swooped in and destroyed that blastia. I think I might be a little singed.” Raven looked at the sleeves of his coat in dismay.

Yuri stopped searching for the flag and turned to face Raven. “Someone on a dragon?”

“I ain’t lyin’, I swear!” Raven held a hand to his chest.

“I know you’re not. I just saw something like that before.”

“Did y--?” Raven’s question was cut off by a very familiar bark. “I was wonderin’ where yer dog was.”

Repede took hold of Yuri’s arm with his teeth and started trying to pull him toward a nearby pier.

“Alright, I’m coming!” Yuri shook free.

Repede raced off down the pier, and Yuri and Raven followed. The dog led them to a medium sized boat that was hidden between two larger ships. It was in passable condition, and its blastia powered engine was already running with a soft hum. Karol had tied up his handkerchief as the flag, but it was hidden by the surrounding ships.

“Y-Yuri! There you are! I told Repede to try and find you ‘cause I couldn’t raise the flag any higher.” Karol was standing in the middle of the boat and wringing his hands together. “I-I hope this is alright.” He glanced down at the boat with trepidation.

“It’s fine, Captain.” Yuri gave Karol a small smile.

Karol’s eyes widened when he noticed Raven standing on the pier. “Wh-who’s this guy?”

“Didn’t know ya had a little kid with ya, too.” Raven glanced at Yuri in amusement. “Hey there, kid. Name’s Raven. Yuri and I are _old pals_.”

“We’re not ‘old pals’,” Yuri scoffed. “We met less than a month ago.”

Raven drew back as if he’d been struck. “I thought we had somethin’ special!”

Yuri sighed. “We need to leave before someone starts poking around.”

Yuri climbed into the boat before helping Repede up, and Karol scrambled to make room as Raven followed. The older man settled in like he owned the boat before giving Karol a lopsided smile.

“So, kid, why don’t ya tell me the excitin’ story of how ya threw yer lot in with Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome.”

“H-handsome?” Karol looked between Raven and Yuri with alarm.

“What, no one explained the birds and the bees ta ya yet?”

Karol started sputtering.

“Don’t make me toss you overboard, old man,” Yuri said as he started to maneuver the boat away from the docks. The coast was miraculously still clear.

“Alright, alright, I’m sorry.” Raven leaned over and set his expression into one of stone cold seriousness. “Don’t worry about it, kid. I was just jokin’,” he said to the still sputtering Karol.

Karol visibly gulped. “O-okay.”

Raven’s face smoothed back into a lazy smile. “I really do wanna know how ya ended up helpin’ out a buncha shady characters like us.”

Karol glanced over at Yuri for help, but Yuri just shrugged. He didn’t see any problem in telling Raven about how they met.

“Yuri and I met in Halure. He asked me to travel with him, and I-I said yes.” Karol bit his lip. “He asked me to get a boat ready because he was going to help the people here.”

“Ya did a good job with that.” Raven glanced around the boat as if it was made out of gold. “This boat ain’t too small and it’s pretty fast. And on top a that, ya helped me out, too.”

Karol’s mouth was hanging open. “Ah-ah, thank you.” His eyebrows slowly drew together. “H-how did you meet Yuri?”

“Well that’s quite a tale.”

Yuri fought to keep a straight face as Raven dove into a ridiculous retelling of the night they’d met in Zaphias. Karol’s eyes were wide, and he gasped at all the right moments. Raven’s story eventually came to a close, and Karol fell asleep with Repede lying close to him.

“Ya know where yer goin’?” Raven asked. “I could steer for a while and let ya sleep. It’ll be mornin’ by the time we get ta Torim.”

“I know what I’m doing, old man.”

“Don’t say I didn’t ask.” Raven leaned back and made a show of trying to get comfortable.

Soon the only sound filling the night was the rumble of the engine and dull thud of the boat rocking in the sea. Yuri felt his hands shaking as his mind kept filling with the image of blood spreading over the soft blankets of Ragou’s bed. He had to force himself to focus on steering them in the right direction as the mantra _It had to be done_ ran through the back of his head.


	9. Seven: Trust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somehow I managed to turn out another chapter before June! Wish me luck on finals! Thank you to my beta, StardustAndAsh, for keeping me from screwing up too badly

Capua Torim was the complete opposite of its sister harbor, lively and full of happy people. The buildings were built into the hillside, giving the town a layered look, and the lack of any ridiculously glamorous mansions was a refreshing sight. The sun beat down with a blistering heat that almost made Yuri miss the gloom of Capua Nor.

Yuri had calmed down and stopped shaking hours ago. He could remember having a similar reaction the first time he killed someone when he was just a teenager. He supposed he reacted the way he had last night because in the past all of his other kills had been in self-defense. None of them could really be classified as murder. Yuri had a bad feeling that his memories of last night would be as clear in his mind as the first time he’d shoved a sword through a bandit’s chest.

They had reached Torim by mid-morning, and Yuri had been so exhausted that Raven had to be the one to dock them to a pier. Karol almost fell into the water when he tried to climb out of the boat, but he’d caught himself at the last moment. Raven was doing his best to answer the questions of a small group of excited dockworkers, while Karol stood at the corner of the pier farthest from the group. Karol kept glancing between the irritable Yuri and the crowd of onlookers with a worried frown.

“You guys came over from Nor, didn’t y-?”

“-been a storm blocking the port-!”

“-have any news from Ilyccia?”

Raven handled the rapid fire questions with ease while Yuri wobbled precariously on his way out of the boat. Even when he was standing on the solid pier, he could still feel the sea rocking beneath him. Repede leapt out after him and barked in concern.

Karol stepped closer to Yuri, griping the strap of his bag in a white knuckled grip. “Yuri, did you sleep at all last night?”

“No,” Yuri mumbled, “I’m going to the inn, and I’m sleeping for a couple years.”

“Al-alright. Sleep well.”

Repede followed behind Yuri as he shuffled his way past the excited locals. Despite his exhaustion, or maybe because of it, Yuri focused on Raven as he passed. It was the first time he’d seen the man in broad daylight, and he was taken aback by the amount of purple that was assaulting his eyes. Who did Raven think he was, dressing like that? Yuri craned his neck to watch how Raven shifted his expressions seamlessly into one another, so that he had just the right smile or just the right frown to appease the little audience he had. Yuri jolted his gaze away when Raven’s eyes met his. He hadn’t realized he’d been staring.

He picked up his pace. He just needed some sleep, and then he would stop gawking at old men with shifty smiles and stupid purple coats.

~7~

The sun blazed down mercilessly on a courtyard filled with a raging mob. The people jostled against a thin line of knights that kept them from overrunning an executioner’s stage, their hate filled dissonance causing the guards to flinch. A man kneeled at the center of the stage in front of a gore covered block. His appearance was nondescript, and the only feature that stood out was the terror etched onto every line of his face.

“Please!” he begged. “You can’t do this! I haven’t even had a trial!”

 He was nearly drowned out by the crowd, but Yuri could hear his cries well enough. He walked up the stairs leading to the platform, the sun’s heat beating down on him like a physical force. He used both hands to carry an axe that shone nearly white in the sun.

“You can’t do this!” the man cried as a faceless knight forced him to rest his head on the block.

As Yuri swung the axe down the crowd’s roar became deafening before cutting off into complete silence. There was a squelching thud before a head landed face up on the stage. Yuri lost his grip on the axe when he saw Clay’s lifeless brown eyes staring blindly back at him.

“No!”

A hand landed on Yuri’s shoulder and he spun, his fist flying forward automatically.

“There’s been a mistake!” he yelled even as the heat of the courtyard melted away.

“Hey, Yuri, wake up!”

Yuri was encased in a blanket that was too warm, and someone had his right hand in a death grip. He tore his hand free and ripped off the blanket. He jumped out of bed with his fists raised for a fight.

“It wasn’t my fault!” Whoever was in his room wanted to arrest him. They were going to execute him, just like Clay.

“I’m sure it wasn’t! Now quiet down!”

He threw another punch at the intruder, only to have his fist caught again.

“Snap out of it, kid! We gotta go!”

The panic that had Yuri’s heart pounding began to dissipate. His eyes focused, and he was greeted by the sight of Raven doing his best to keep Yuri’s fist from colliding with his face. Yuri was in his hotel room in Torim, and it had all been just a dream. He relaxed, but Raven didn’t let go of his hand.

“Ya finally done tryin’ ta break my jaw?”

“How did you get in here?” Yuri demanded to hide his embarrassment. “I locked the door to keep weirdoes like you out.”

Raven sighed dramatically. “I’m tryin’ ta help ya out, and yer worried about that?” He let go of Yuri’s fist as his eyes sharpened. “There are knights from Nor investigatin’ the governor’s murder. We need ta get ya outta town.”

Yuri’s jumbled mind focused at that. “Where are the knights?” He had slept in his clothes, so he grabbed his boots and starting pulling them on.

“Their boat docked a couple minutes ago, and they’re askin’ a lotta questions that will lead straight ta us. C’mon, we gotta go.” Raven’s voice was cold and quick, and Yuri thought he might actually be worried.

After grabbing his bag and sword he turned to face Raven. “Where’s Karol?”

“I already got him up. We split a room since ya were already out like a light.” Raven opened the door, checking the hall carefully. “Looks like all yer yellin’ didn’t wake anyone up.”

The hallway was dark and deserted as Yuri and Raven rushed through it and down the stairs to the first floor of the inn. Karol stood at the foot of the stairs, his hair ruffled and his eyes heavy with sleep. Raven swooped over to a door with a crooked handle just as the sound of clanking armor and voices drifted over from the lobby. He opened the door to reveal a filthy alley. Yuri was relieved to see Repede waiting patiently outside.

“Are you guys sure we have to leave right now?” Karol asked with a bit of whine.

“We could stay if ya want the knights ta drag us off. How do ya think they’d treat someone who isn’t an Imperial citizen?” Raven admonished.

“N-not very well.”

“Shut up,” Yuri whispered to the two of them. A knight was lounging at the end of the alleyway. He hadn’t noticed them yet, and Yuri didn’t want to change that.

Before they could reach the other end of the alley, the back door of the inn opened. Yuri looked back to see a thin teenager carrying a bag of trash. He stopped when he saw them but didn’t call out. Instead he continued on to the garbage can as if he hadn’t seen anything. Yuri sighed in relief and was thankful they were in a Union controlled town. The chances of the populace helping out the knights in their search was slim.

A few blocks away from the inn their smooth escape was cut short.

“Hey there!” a boisterous man’s voice broke the silence, and Karol let out a strangled squeak at the sudden noise. “I’d like to have word with you.” A stocky knight with a liberal amount of stubble dotting his face was waving at the four of them.

Yuri put a hand on his sword, debating whether they should just make a break for it, when Raven actually responded.

“What kinda questions?” he asked as he stepped in front of their little group.

“I know it’s unorthodox for the knights to be here, but we have reason to believe a murderer may be in your midst,” the knight responded politely.

“Aren’t we all just murderers ta ya Imperial types?” Raven sounded so genuinely bitter that Yuri had to remind himself that it was only an act. “Why don’t ya go back were ya belong and leave us decent folk alone?”

“Excuse me, sir,” the knight was doing his best to rein in his anger, “but I hardly find that a fair assessment. The man we’re chasing is a dangerous fiend who brutally murdered a government official in his own bed. He’s a-“

“He murdered a noble?” Raven made a motion to leave behind his back. Yuri grabbed Karol’s arm and started heading for the gates, Repede trailing behind them.

“W-well yes.”

“Then give the guy a medal!”

“W-wait! What do you think you’re-“ the knight cut off with pained cry.

Yuri glanced back to see that the knight had fallen to the ground and blood was gushing from his neck. Karol’s mouth hung open in shock while Raven was rushed towards them with a bloody dagger clutched in his left hand.

“Come on!” he yelled as he barreled past them.

They rushed out of Torim and through the tall grasses that lay right outside the barrier. The few monsters that were wandering about paid them little mind. It wasn’t long until they’d made it into the infamous woods that covered most of Tolbyccia.

“Why did you kill him?” Yuri demanded moments after they stopped.

“He woulda opened his big mouth and told the resta his unit that we left the city. This way they don’t know anythin’ fer sure. Besides, I don’t know if ya got any right ta be mad at me fer killin’ someone.”

Yuri’s entire body went cold. He remembered what Raven had said when he’d woken him up, and he put a hand on his sword as Repede started growling. Raven was the only person who knew that Yuri had killed Ragou.

“Everythin’s fine now.” Raven glanced significantly at Karol, who was wringing his hands and looking between Raven and Yuri in obvious distress. “We should make camp and try ta get some sleep.”

“I-I think that sometimes you just have to do stuff so you can survive,” Karol spoke up. “We shouldn’t start fighting each other ‘cause of that.”

Yuri moved his hand from his sword, and Repede relaxed. “You’re right.” He pointedly did not look at Raven. “We shouldn’t make a campfire, in case the knights decide to look outside Torim.”

They quickly set up a perimeter of monster repellent and put out bedrolls as Repede sat in the middle of the campsite, his intelligent eye watching them all closely. Karol tried to break the strained silence a few times, but his attempts fell flat. Eventually he laid down and fell asleep, his snoring mixing with the sounds of the wildlife. Raven and Yuri had sat down at opposite ends of the camp, but the moment Karol began to snore, Yuri flew to his feet and was standing in front of Raven in a few long strides.

“I don’t want any trouble,” Raven whispered as he stood, forcing Yuri to take a step back. He looked over at Karol’s prone form. “Let’s get away from the kid, at least.”

Yuri glanced down at Repede, who stood next to him. “Stay here and keep an eye on Karol.”

Repede growled at Raven before turning and walking regally over to where Karol slept.

“I don’t think yer dog likes me too much.”

Yuri was satisfied to see Raven looked nervous. “Repede doesn’t like anyone,” he replied with a sharp smirk.

He started trudging through the woods, Raven following beside him. The older man kept looking over his shoulder, but once Yuri stopped walking, he collected himself.

“The minute ya told me where ya were goin’, I knew ya were gonna kill the governor. I didn’t stop ya ‘cause it’s no skin off my back.” Raven spoke as he had to the dockworkers, with an easy charisma that practically screamed ‘trust me.’ Yuri wasn’t foolish enough to fall for it. “I’m tryin’ ta stop these guys too, and if one a ‘em gets stabbed, I’m all fer it.”

In that moment Yuri knew he had to make a decision on whether or not he should trust Raven to keep his secrets. Raven had gone through the trouble of passing on information when he had no obligation to on many occasions, and he hadn’t stopped Yuri when he’d gone to kill Ragou. Despite this, something about Raven rubbed Yuri the wrong way, and he just couldn’t put his finger on what it was.

“Come on, kid, we could help each other out,” Raven continued in the face of Yuri’s unmoving silence, and even in the dark Yuri could see him grinning.

“Why?” Yuri asked.

“What?” The grin slid of Raven’s face.

“Why are you helping me? It’s not just because we’re investigating the same thing. You had no reason to give me those letters, or to tell us the knights were coming.”

“So a man can’t be nice without ulterior motives?” Raven sounded thoroughly offended.

Yuri crossed his arms. “Not men like you.”

Raven shifted in the dark. He straightened out of his slouch and lifted his head to look Yuri in the eye. The charisma was gone, replaced only by blankness. “Do ya want me ta leave?”

“No.” He had expected more denials and eventually an explanation, not this. “I just want to know if I can trust you.”

“Ya don’t trust me.” Raven shifted again, leaning his weight onto his left foot. Yuri could hear anger in his voice, and this time it was genuine. “I held a knife ta yer throat, and I stood over ya when ya were sleepin’, and I didn’t do nothin’. If I wanted ta hurt ya or the kid I woulda done it already.”

Yuri uncrossed his arms and tightened his right hand into a fist. “That doesn’t mean you’re not going to turn me in at your convenience. Even if they don’t know who murdered Ragou, a reward will still be offered for information.”

Raven took a half step closer. “Ya think I’m gonna turn ya in? A man who doesn’t have any human rights accordin’ ta the Empire?” He shook his head. “I’m practically yer accomplice, not to mention I burnt down some mansions last time I was in Zaphias. I’ll be right next ta ya on the headsman’s block if I was as stupid as that.”

What Raven was saying made sense, and Yuri felt a bolt of embarrassment run through him. He must seem like such a fool, demanding answers from someone he’d already let his guard down around. Something was still off about the whole situation, and it bothered Yuri like an itch he couldn’t scratch. He didn’t have any real reason to distrust Raven, though.

Yuri sighed and let his right hand relax, feeling a sting where his nails had dug into his palm. He noticed then that in their argument Raven had moved so close that there was hardly an inch of space between them. Yuri’s heart was beating erratically. He had thought it was because he was angry before, but now his anger had slipped away. _Oh no._ Tension seeped back into Yuri’s shoulders. At least he knew now what bothered him about Raven.

Raven reached for something at his hip and held up a small metal canteen. “Ya look ya could use a drink.”

Laughter burst from Yuri’s lips, but it grated in his ears. “No thanks, old man.” Yuri stepped back, feeling warmer than he should have in the cool night air. He did his best to make it look like he wasn’t running away. “I’ll trust you for now, and we can help each other out, like you said.”

“Yeah and when we get ta Dahngrest we can finally get that drink, in a warm bar, without any arguin’ or knights chasin’ after us. It’ll be great.” Raven took a swig from the canteen.

Yuri smiled, but he turned away from Raven so he wouldn’t see it. “I’m going back to sleep before the sun decides to rise.”

His mind raced as he trudged back to camp. He could hear Raven a few paces behind him, so Yuri sped up. This wasn’t something he’d expected. He’d had trysts in past, but they had all been with men close to his age. None of them had been as crooked as Raven was, either. Yuri stomped through the foliage. Just because he was attracted to someone didn’t mean anything had to come of it. Raven had proven useful to his work, and Yuri wasn’t going to complicate things.

Never mind the fact that Raven kept insisting they get drinks.


	10. Eight: Games We Play

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Summer classes are ridiculous and my life has been nothing but chemistry for the past five weeks. Thank god it’s almost over.  
> I’m putting out a fic for Kingdom Hearts and will most likely have the first chapter posted by tonight. If you care about that fandom at all, please feel free to check it out!  
> Thank you to my beta, StardustAndAsh! You are truly invaluable!

The city of Heliord rose above the treetops, gleaming like a white tower in the grey morning light. The last time Yuri had laid eyes on this city it had been nothing more than a small cluster of buildings that lacked the protection of a barrier. He was shocked to see how quickly it had developed; the sheer height of the city was baffling. He had to admit that the Empire knew how to make a statement.

Humidity caused a thin layer of sweat to cover his body and his clothes to stick to his skin. The sky was an imposing grey, and the smell of rain was in the air. Repede padded silently next to him, his tongue lolling out in response to the oppressive heat. A few paces behind him, Raven was recounting a story of how he got mixed up with a pirate crew, and Karol was staring up at the older man with wide-eyed delight. Yuri was looking forward to sitting down in a less humid inn, eating food that hadn’t been scorched over a camp fire, and sleeping in a room where he couldn’t hear Raven talking incessantly.

“—and then this tidal wave just pops outta nowhere—“

Karol let out a squeak that interrupted Raven mid-sentence. 

“What’s the matter, kid?” Raven asked.

Yuri turned around to see that Karol had stopped walking and had his eyes fixated on the sight of the city rising above the trees. “W-we’re not going to Heliord, are we?”

Yuri put a hand on his hip. “It’s the easiest way to cross the river and get to Danhgrest. Don’t tell me you’d rather go the long way and spend another week with a rock for a pillow?”

“B-But if we go there the knights will kidnap us and make us work until we d-die!”

“Those are probably just stories. ‘Eat your broccoli or the knights will get you!’” Yuri smirked.

Raven huffed. “The kid’s right, ya know. Supposedly they’re gonna make everyone who helps build the city inta a noble, and all kinds a fools are slavin’ day and night fer a bogus title. Us guild folk are smart enough ta see that fer what it is, so they gotta kidnap us if they want extra hands. ”

The smirk slipped from Yuri’s face. “They’re using slave labor to build the city?”

 “Which is why we shouldn’t go there!” Karol’s feet fidgeted as if he was resisting the urge to run away.

Yuri couldn’t just walk away from this. He crossed his arms as tension spread down his spine _._ He could feel anger coursing through his veins, and Repede sensed it and stiffened beside him. Of course any marvel the Empire constructed had be done on the broken backs of the common people.

Raven straightened out of his slouch and tilted his head to the side. “What’s goin’ on in that city isn’t our problem. You saw those shippin’ logs, same as I did. The blastia don’t stop there, they just pass on through ta Dahngrest. Which is what we should be doin’.”

Yuri felt a wave of something not quite like disgust rise in him. Repede growled next to him. “How could you say something like that? They’re enslaving people from the _Union_ , and you don’t even care?”

Raven’s mouth turned downward into a frown. “Look—“

“W-wait!” Karol jumped into the space between Raven and Yuri with his hands held up. “Yuri, if you want to go that badly, w-we can go. Please, just don’t fight.”

Yuri scowled at Raven. His heart was beating wildly, and his annoyance only grew. Why did he have to be attracted to someone this shallow?

Raven sighed dramatically. “Alright. Just don’t expect me ta stick around if the knights start ta get grabby.”

He started walking towards the city, and when he passed Yuri, Raven looked him up and down with a sharp gaze that sent shivers running down Yuri’s spine. Yuri glared at the back of Raven’s head, and Repede snarled.

“Y-Yuri.” He forced himself to look down at Karol, who gulped. “Come on, if we stay here monsters might attack us.”

Yuri let out a long breath through his nose and rearranged his expression into one of nonchalance. “I’m lucky you’re around, Captain. Without you, the old man and I would probably kill each other.”

Karol looked horrified at the thought but nodded anyway. “Raven is pretty nice, compared to most people I know. You’re really nice, too. I-I don’t know why you guys keep fighting,” he said as they started walking again.

Yuri could see Raven’s purple jacket ahead of them like a beacon in the woods. “You think I’m _nice_? You hit your head or something?”

Karol turned bright red. “N-no! It’s just,” he paused for a long time, “y-you helped me when you didn’t have to. Not many people would do that.”

The anger roaring under his skin quieted down to a humming. He gave Karol a small smile.

Embarrassment still painted Karol’s face as he smiled back shakily before bounding ahead to catch up with Raven. Yuri could hear him asking for more stories, and Raven started up another loud and ridiculous tale. He watched both of them walk through the trees. One he regretted dragging into this, but the other, well he’d like to think he didn’t care either way.

~8~

Rain pattered against the window frame, causing blurry lines to run across the view Yuri had of the work camp. The camp was a sea of tents splashed with mud, and the constant thud of construction mixed with the sound of the rain. He was looking out the window of the inn, and the sounds were almost deafening in the silence. The inn was deserted, but the city was writhing with life. Even in the rain workers rushed back and forth with supplies carried on their backs. The people appeared underfed and exhausted, but they kept moving at a breakneck pace. Yuri imagined the knights that flooded the streets and watched over the camp had something to do with the fear and tension that permeated the air. 

“Yuri!” Karol came running up the stairs from the lobby. “Raven talked down the innkeeper, he sold us two rooms for only 300 gald!”

“300 gald is still a rip off,” Yuri scoffed.

Raven appeared behind Karol. “I got him down from 500 a room, so I think that’s a deal.”

Karol pulled one of the keys from Raven’s hand and unlocked one of the rooms. He peered inside with wonder. “Everything is so new! It even smells like paint still.”

He disappeared into the room, leaving Yuri and Raven alone in the hall. Raven was staring at Yuri, his expression amused, while Yuri attempted to drill a hole in the wall just to right of Raven’s head. Karol poked his face back into the hall.

“Are you guys hungry?” He awkwardly looked between Raven and Yuri when he received no reply. “W-well, I’m hungry. I’m gonna go see if I can find lunch.” Karol rushed across the hall and back down the stairs like he was being chased by a monster.

Yuri didn’t have time to have a staring contest with some old man. He needed to find out what bastard was responsible for this gross mistreatment of the people and make them pay. He made his way to the stairs, but before he could start his descent, Raven grabbed hold of his arm.

“Ya can stop givin’ me the evil eye, kid.” The same expression of amusement littered his face in the slight upturn of his mouth and the crinkling around it, but his eyes were tired. “Ya think I’m some sorta villain who doesn’t care about his fellow man, but that’s not the case. Ya see, I do care, but I got a job ta do that doesn’t involve savin’ the whole world. I was under the impression ya did, too.”

“Job? I’m not working for anyone, old man.”

The pretense of amusement fell off of Raven’s face entirely. “Oh really? Yer not wokin’ fer anyone, even though ya been sneakin’ around and riskin’ yer life.” He moved closer, his grip on Yuri’s arm tightening. “Ya can’t tell me ya just woke up one day itchin’ ta stab a councilman,” he whispered harshly.

Yuri pulled out of Raven’s grasp. His heart was hammering again, but this time it was accompanied by a churning in his stomach. “What are you, deaf? I said I’m not working for anyone. I’m trying to help people. Do you think what was going on in Nor would have stopped if I hadn’t intervened?”

Raven’s eyebrows drew together and his mouth opened and closed a few times. “Intervened?” he said faintly. “Damn, kid, this whole time I thought ya were—“ he cut himself off and slumped against the wall, his hand reaching up to cover his eyes. “That’s why ya wanted ta stay here. Yer plannin’ ta _intervene_.” His dropped his hand from his face to let it hang limply at his side. “Ya got a death wish?”

“You better not try and stop me,” Yuri said sharply.

“I’m just tryin’ ta get ya ta see reason.” Raven stepped away from the wall and back into Yuri’s space. “Yer gonna try this with a Captain in his own city, surrounded by his loyal knights? Ya don’t think that’s a recipe fer disaster?”

“What am I supposed to do instead, run away? The people around here look walking like corpses! I’m not going to stand back and let this keep happening!”

“Yer actin’ like one guy is gonna make a difference. The system he’s got goin’ is workin’. Who’s ta say his replacement doesn’t just keep it up?”

“Then I’ll make an example of him too until the idiots at the top realize they can’t get away with abusing people,” Yuri practically snarled.

Raven shook his head. “Yer really set on doin’ this, huh?”

“Of course.” Yuri crossed his arms.

Raven was staring at Yuri like he was a puzzle he couldn’t solve. “This is somethin’ I can’t stick around fer. It’s a suicide mission.”

“Then go,” Yuri said with ice lacing his voice. “No one’s forcing you to stay.”

Raven turned away and began to walk down the stairs with a deliberate slowness, and paused at the bottom when Yuri said nothing. “Ya know, people always tell me I got a flare fer the dramatic, and I think ya got a natural talent fer it with this _crusade fer_ _justice_ ya got goin’.” Raven looked over his shoulder at Yuri. “I like ya, kid, and I don’t want ya die. It would be a waste.”

“There’s nothing you can say to change my--”

“Well, ya don’t gotta tell me twice. Just let me finish,” Raven cut in as he turned to face Yuri. “Ya need information, right?”

“What the hell do you know about it?” Yuri uncrossed his arms and had half a mind to just knock Raven the rest of the way down the stairs. “I thought you were leaving.”

“I know a lot more than ya.” He made his way back up the stairs. “And I changed my mind. Figured if I told ya what I know yer less likely ta kick the bucket. That ain’t allowed?”

Yuri’s eyebrow twitched. “Not when it’s in the span of thirty seconds.”

“In that case.” Raven threw his hands into the air and turned back around.

“Wait.” Yuri grabbed his shoulder.

Raven glanced at the hand on his shoulder as a grin spread across face. “Well, if ya insist.” He turned back around when Yuri let go of his shoulder. “I’ll tell ya all about the man yer after, but we should probably talk in private.” He held out the other hotel room key and jangled it at Yuri.

Yuri snatched the key and went to open the room. He felt off center. The fact that Raven thought he had been working for someone was setting off red flags. _Who the hell was he supposed to have been working for?_ He unlocked the door and went to lean against the wall by the bed. Yuri tried his best to look composed. He knew that Raven was a guild agent, but what kind of game had Raven been playing this whole time?

The door closed behind Raven with a sharp smack, and he stopped right in front it. His grin disappeared again, and he stared at Yuri for a moment as if expecting him to say something. Yuri kept his mouth shut. He would let Raven tell him what he knew, and then he’d be on his way. He didn’t have time to be distracted.

“The guy in charge around here is Dilan Rupertson, the twelfth Captain a the knights,” Raven began after Yuri remained silent. “He has a reputation. He throws parties like nobody else and drinks like a fish. He lives in the largest mansion near the top a the city. Yer best bet at gettin’ him is during one a his little shindigs. Do ‘im in when he’s so drunk that he can’t walk straight. If I was crazy enough ta try this, it’s what I’d do.”

“I just need to figure out how to get to him undetected.” Yuri stepped away from the wall and headed towards the door that Raven still blocked.

“Yeah, that’s what makes it a suicide mission.” Raven put his hand on the doorknob. “Ya want me ta keep an eye on Karol?”

Raven might have been playing a game that Yuri didn’t understand, but Karol could not stay in Heliord while Yuri lied in wait to murder a Captain.

“That would be for the best,” Yuri said with resignation. “I want him to get safely back to Dahngrest.”

“I’ll see it done. He’s a good kid.” Raven looked Yuri in the eye, and he appeared far more tired than he had at the beginning of their conversation. “Try not ta get killed.”

Yuri forced himself to smirk. “Have some confidence in me, old man.”

“If ya show up in Dahngrest without a scratch, I’ll never doubt ya again.”

Raven opened the door and the two of them were greeted by a squeak and thump. Karol had fallen over and was gaping up at them.

“I-I,” he stuttered.

Yuri’s first instinct was to demand how much Karol had heard, but he reined it back. If Karol knew what he was going to do, the boy would undoubtedly want to be as far away from Yuri as possible.

“You’re traveling with Raven now,” Yuri said firmly. “I’m sorry I couldn’t get you all the way to Dahngrest.”

Karol scrambled to his feet. “W-wait!”

Yuri stepped out of the room and brushed past Karol as he made his way to the stairs.

“Yuri, don’t go!”

“There’s no stoppin’ him, kid.”

Before he started to walk down the stairs, Yuri glanced back. Raven had a hand on Karol’s shoulder to stop him from running after. Karol’s brown eyes were filled with a familiar fear and hurt, and they were quickly filling with tears. Yuri turned away and resolutely began his descent.

He stepped out of the inn and into the rain. The drops were ice cold compared to the burning guilt that covered his entire body. In the end, he’d done Karol no better than the guild that had abandoned him in Halure.

Something nudged Yuri’s leg, and he looked to down to see Repede staring up at him. The dog barked, and Yuri answered him: “Come on, old friend. Let’s make this bastard pay.”

~8~

The clouds ate up most of the sunlight, leaving Yuri the benefit of traveling in the cover of rainstorm gloom. He was uncomfortable and smelled of wet dog, but he wasn’t trying to impress anyone. He was going to scout Dilan’s household, and do some digging to find out when the man was going to throw a feast. Never mind the convenient fact that Raven and Karol would be far away by the time he got back to the inn.

The alley Repede and him lurked in was dirty and deserted. They had managed to sneak up a few levels of the city, but they were still a ways from the top. Most of the knights had seemed more concerned with controlling the workforce than looking for suspicious characters and had paid the two of them little mind. The way Raven had spoken, Yuri would have thought there would be more resistance. This wasn’t much more difficult than sneaking around Zaphias. Yuri’s mind began to stray towards his questions about what Raven’s agenda was and his doubts about parting ways with him and Karol.

“Dammit,” he mumbled as he forced himself to focus. He could think until he was blue in the face, but that wouldn’t give him a visual layout of Dilan’s mansion. He had work to do.

Repede snarled, and Yuri’s heart flew into his throat at the sight of a half a dozen knights at the end of alley. He spun on his heels and took a few steps in opposite direction before stopping short. Another group was coming in from the other direction, effectively surrounding him. Yuri straightened out his stance and didn’t draw his sword. He put a hand on Repede’s head to quiet him. There was a good chance that he could talk his way out of this. Lurking in an alleyway wasn’t technically illegal, and he hadn’t entered the higher reaches of the city yet.

“Can I help you guys with something?” Yuri asked casually.

“Is this him?” a tall knight asked in a rumbling voice. He pulled a fat man from the midst of the group with so much force that he fell onto his knees in front of Yuri.

“Y-yes. That’s the one that was with those guild people.”

The tall knight nodded and the others began to move in. Yuri’s hand flew to his sword, and Repede lunged at the throat of a nearby knight. The fat man scurried away with a cry as Yuri drew his sword and disarmed a female knight. He had hardly a moment to breathe before he had to jump away from a strike from one of her companions.

“Come quietly. We only need to ask you some questions.”

“Yeah, right!”

Yuri wacked a helmeted knight across the face, and his helm rang as he stumbled. Repede had diverted four knights to him, but Yuri was still overwhelmed. He dodged again and sliced at a weak point in a knight’s leg armor. He went down with a cry. Yuri’s heart almost stopped when he heard Repede whine in pain but couldn’t get to him to help.

Pain spiked at the back of his head as a knight’s gauntleted fist connected with his skull. He lost his hold on his sword, and the world spun as he was thrown against the alley wall.

“Hurry up and cuff him!”

The spinning only got worse and the last thing Yuri felt before he lost consciousness was cold metal locking his wrists together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do not despair! Raven and Karol are not leaving for good. Yuri is just being his usual “I’m a lone wolf I can’t drag anyone else into my shit” self.


	11. Nine: Red Eyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the comments, kudos, subscriptions, and bookmarks everyone! I hope you all enjoy this update :3  
> I will never be able to fully express my gratitude to my beta, StardustAndAsh.

An incessant pounding in the back Yuri’s skull woke him. His mouth was dry, and he was lying on something cold and hard. He attempted to open his eyes, but the pain spiked and sent him cringing back into darkness. The sound of banter and laughter filled his sluggish ears.

The memories of getting ambushed in the alley and being arrested flooded his mind. He tried to open his eyes again when he remembered Repede’s pained whine, but was unsuccessful. He couldn’t hear any whining or barking now, and his slow thought process finally spit out that Repede wouldn’t be locked in prison with him. Thoughts of the dog chained up somewhere made his blood boil.

Yuri clenched his fists and finally managed to crack open his eyes. Dull grey stone filled his vision and he made a resolution to break out and find Repede immediately. First, he needed a gel.

“Hey!” Yuri tried to shout, but it came out raspier then he would have liked. “Haven’t you assholes ever heard of due process?”

Laughter broke out next to Yuri and a voice drawled, “Ya won’t be gettin’ anythin’ like that around here.”

Yuri’s heart practically flew into his throat before his mind caught up to the fact that Raven wasn’t here. It was just someone from the Union. He shifted his gaze from the ceiling to the cell next him. A group of two men and an older women were sitting down and playing a card game in a cell that was almost twice the size of his own. They were looking over at him in amusement. 

“What did you expect from the Empire? Summary executions are pretty popular in this city,” one of the men grumbled. He was skinny and looked younger than Yuri. 

“It’s a disgrace.” The man with the Dahngrest accent shook his head.

“You look like you need a gel, dear. You’re bleeding all over the bench,” the old woman commented.

“Don’t ya have a few, Jake?”

“Yeah, but I’m not gonna just give him one for free. He has to do something for me first,” the skinny man smirked.

“What’s he gonna do? All he’s doin’ is lyin’ there like a lump.”

“I could think of a few things.”

“You are a fiend!” the woman replied indignantly. She stood up with a huff and held out her hand. The skinny man reluctantly handed her a gel.

The women bustled past the card game and approached where metal bars divided up the cells. She pressed the gel into Yuri’s hand. “That should fix you up.”

She turned back around and rejoined the game, ignoring the skinny man’s irritable muttering.

Yuri stared at the small green gel for a moment before swallowing it. The pain in his skull slowly receded, and he sighed before closing his eyes again. He was exhausted. He would just rest his eyes for a few minutes before thinking up an escape plan.

“The guards are coming! Put away that damn game before they beat the lot of us!” a new voice exclaimed, knocking Yuri out of his doze.

The group in the cell next to him scrambled to hide the cards away. The sound of metal boots clanking on stone was ringing in the hallway outside of the cells. The last card was shoved out of sight the moment two knights appeared at the far end of the hall. All of the prisoners in the surrounding cells were dead silent and many took on the ruse of being asleep. The knights where whispering to each other, neither one concerned with checking over the prisoners. Yuri was able to catch what they were saying as they passed by his cell.

“--you hear? The First Captain’s in the city.”

“You’re kidding! What’s a big shot like that doing all the way out here?”

“Tell me about it. And no one even saw him come into the city. He just appeared on Captain Dilan’s doorstep. _Of course_ , Dilan is throwing a last minute party to welcome him.”

“Then I’m glad we’re not patrolling up in High Town tonight. Dilan and that hag Lieutenant of his are probably bellowing at every knight and servant within reach.”

“Yeah, I heard Ricky’s girl is working as a servant up there—“

The two knights had turned around and wandered back down the hall, falling out of Yuri’s earshot. A low murmur started up in the cell block once the knights left. Yuri pushed through his exhaustion and forced himself to sit up and get off the prison bench. He needed to break out and head up to Dilan’s place while that party was still going on. If he could just reach the bastard in time, he wouldn’t have to risk waiting around in this rotten city any longer.

Distant shouts started up where the knights had disappeared to, and the prisoners fell silent again. The door at the end of the hallway banged open and much softer footfalls than the clanking of the knights filled the corridor. A tall and thin man wrapped in skin tight black clothing glided down the corridor. The only spot of color on him were the glowing red goggles covering his eyes. The smell of blood filled the hallway, and the hair rose on the back of Yuri’s neck. He fell into a defensive stance, his heart beating erratically. Prisoners sent catcalls after the lithe man, but he paid them no mind and continued walking until he came to a sudden halt in front of Yuri’s cell. He slowly withdrew a key from his pocket and unlocked the door. He opened the door and paused, silently staring at Yuri through his unnerving goggles. Yuri was just beginning to relax, thinking he might have misread the situation, when a black blur sped toward him. Yuri rolled out of the way, and the screech of metal hitting stone filled the prison as the man’s dagger sparked against the wall. The prisoners were shouting and yelling around them.

“ _Kill_ ,” the crazed man hissed at Yuri.

He spun with his dagger heading for Yuri’s throat, but Yuri crouched low to avoid it. He kicked out and tried to knock the man off his feet, but the man jumped into the air to avoid the kick. Yuri flew back into a stance and took a few swings at his attacker. The man weaved around them easily and tried to jam his dagger through Yuri’s defense. Yuri danced out of the way, almost colliding with the bars of the cell as he landed on the metal prison bench.

“ _Stab_ ,” the lithe man snarled at Yuri as he swung his dagger in a powerful arc, aiming right for Yuri’s heart.

Sliding off the bench, Yuri managed to avoid the dagger. He sprung to his feet and took a swing at the madman and was rewarded with the sound of crunching glass when his fist collided with the man’s goggles. The lithe man stumbled back, losing his grip on his dagger.

“KILL!” he screeched at Yuri, and dived at him with his bare hands raised like claws.

Yuri raised his foot and kicked the man in the stomach before he could get grabbed. The man collapsed onto the floor and Yuri picked up the discarded dagger. He raised it up as the madman had earlier and brought it down into the man’s back with as much force as he could. The crazed man bellowed in pain, and Yuri pulled out the dagger. He climbed onto the man’s back, disregarding the blood quickly staining his pants. He pulled the man’s head back to expose his neck and held the dagger to his throat.

“Who sent you?” Yuri demanded, his voice cold as ice.

The madmen began laughing at the question. It was a high pitched and broken laugh that drilled into Yuri’s ears and sent fear trilling down his spin. Yuri tightened his grip and shook the man, the dagger cutting enough to draw blood.

“Who sent you to kill me?”

The lithe man only laughed harder.

Yuri’s patience wore thin, and he drew the knife across the man’s throat to cut off that terrible laugh. The man gurgled as blood rushed from his throat and mouth, and Yuri released him and stood up, the knife still gripped in his hand.

The prisoners were silent again, all of them staring at Yuri with differing degrees of fear. All except the man from Dahngrest.

“Leviathan’s Claw sent ‘im,” he said quietly.

Yuri approached the bars of the cell. “Who?”

“The assassins’ guild, Leviathan’s Claw. They all dress like that and they’re all fuckin’ nuts.”

Yuri looked back at the bloody mess behind him, his heart still pounding from the adrenalin rush. _Fantastic._ He had a guild of psychopaths out for his blood.

He sighed before approaching the body. A ring of keys and some small change sat in the assassin’s pockets. Yuri held up the keys and jangled them. He turned to face the cellblock at large, as every eye was still trained on him.

“I’m letting them out,” he threw the keys towards the cell next to him and the man from Dahngrest caught them. “If they want to unlock the rest of your cells, that’s their business.”

An uproar started as Yuri calmly made his way out of his cell. He would leave the decision of who should go free to the people who had helped him. Yuri had no idea who in the cell block was actually guilty of a crime or had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. His calm steps faltered when he entered the guard office just outside the cell block. The office was covered in a gruesome display: the knights who had been guarding it had been torn to shreds. Another shiver ran down his spine at the realization that he had been one misstep away from being nothing but a gruesome smear on the cell wall.

The prisoners’ arguing knocked Yuri out of his reverie, and he quickly scanned the room for an evidence cache to retrieve his bag and sword. Unfortunately, there wasn’t one in the office. Yuri peeked out of the office door to see that it led into a side street that was deserted. It was late, and all the surrounding houses were dark, their intricate stone facades gloomy in the night. A few more knights lay brutalized in the street, and he knew he had to get moving, least he get blamed for these murders. He felt a pang of remorse. Even though he had a clear escape route these knights didn’t deserve such a violent end just for doing their job.

He waked into the street and went around the back of the jail to find a small, weed ridden yard. A metal post sat off to one side and Repede lay next to it. As Yuri approached him, Repede cracked open his eye and let out a reproachful bark. Yuri’s stomach clenched at its subdued tone.

“This blood isn’t mine,” he told Repede as he untied the chain holding the dog captive.

Repede had bandages wrapped around his middle but otherwise looked unharmed. The knights must have been smart enough to realize the value in a war dog. Yuri tried to put his hand on Repede’s head, but the dog moved away from him with a gruff bark.

“I’m not leaving the city just yet. The bastard I’m after is throwing a party as we speak. I need to strike now.”

Repede still refused to face him.

“I’ll be more careful in the future. We won’t get arrested like this again.”

Repede let out one short and sharp bark before turning back to look at Yuri with a scrutiny almost made him squirm.

 “Come on. We need to get out of sight before more knights show up.”

Repede begrudgingly started walking and the two slipped into the shadow of a nearby alley. The jail was located much higher up in the city than where they had been when they were arrested, and Yuri was pleased to see that the imposing mansions at the highest level were only a few sets of stairs away. Distant noises of a wild party created a dissonance to the otherwise quiet night.

All Yuri had on him was the knife he’d taken from the assassin and his blood stained clothes. He didn’t have time to go looking for his things now, though he felt a distinct loss at the absence of Clay’s scarf. He consoled himself with the idea that he’d find it after he took care of Dilan, though it was an empty comfort.

The streets were still deserted as Yuri and Repede made their way to the first set of stairs, a result of the late hour and the curfew placed on the city. Knights were few and far between, and once the horror at the jail was discovered, many of the patrollers rushed in that direction, leaving the stairs to High Town completely unguarded. Yuri and Repede made a mad dash up the stairs, and rushed down the street past darkened houses. The last set of stone stairs were wide and had a railing that had been covered with carvings of dragons spiraling around one another. Only a single knight carrying a spear stood at the foot of the stairs, and he barely had time to react before Yuri struck him on the back of the head. He crumpled to the ground, and Yuri dragged him into the dark of a nearby side street.

Yuri leaned against the side of nearby house with rich brass decorations surrounding him, Repede, and the prone knight. His clothes were sticking to his skin, and Yuri knew that he wouldn’t be able to blend in at the party covered in gore. The knight’s light plate armor shone silver in the moonlight. Yuri pushed off from the wall and leaned over the knight. The knight wasn’t much taller than him and was only a little broader. The armor wouldn’t fit like a glove, but it was a decent match. A chuckle burst from Yuri’s mouth, and he had to force himself to stop once it started becoming a bit hysterical.

The last time he’d worn a knight’s uniform he’d been fleeing from Zaphias with Clay running in front of him and with Flynn left behind in the city. Now he was going to steal a set of armor so he could murder a Captain.

Repede nudged him in the leg, a clear sign to hurry up. Yuri went about undoing the straps on the knight’s plate, gauntlets, and boots. He pulled off the heavy black clothing the knight wore beneath it and left the poor man in his smallclothes. He scanned the street again, but it was still empty. The laughter and music of the party was louder than earlier, grating in his ears. He stripped and pulled on his disguise, lucky that he’d found a man who favored such light plate. He slipped the knife onto his borrowed belt and walked back to stairs, amused at the soft clank he made with each step. It was a sound he hadn’t made for years.

The spear the knight had held lay at the bottom of stairs and Yuri picked it up. It wouldn’t do him much good in a fight as he’d never trained to use one, but he had to look the part. He made his way up the last flight of stairs to the top of the city, Repede walking next to him. The mansions at the top level were few and far between, and the one with an uproarious crowd surrounding it and live music spilling from it marked his destination.

The upper level was heavily patrolled. Knights walked in groups up and down the street and surrounded the outskirts of the party. One group was passing by when Yuri stopped at the top of the stairs, but the leader simply nodded at him and kept walking.

He approached the party with a deceptively casual pace, his eyes and ears sharp. He thought he was in the clear when he broke into the crowd, but a harsh voice stopped him. 

"Soldier!" A woman’s voice practically barked as a hand landed on Yuri's shoulder. 

He turned to face her and was put face to face with a woman who was both taller and broader in the shoulders than him. Her face was deadly serious.

"The Captain has requested someone to take care of a _situation_ on the second floor. Since you’re just milling about, go and take care of it." Her lip curled at the sight of Repede. "Where did this mutt come from?"

"He was with a dissenter who was arrested. I thought he'd be more use here than chained to a pole," Yuri lied smoothly. 

She grunted. "Just make sure he doesn't shit on the floor!” She set her scowling gaze back onto Yuri. “I better hear about nothing but sterling behavior from the Captain or you'll have your pay docked!" She turned around and began to storm off, bellowing at another group of knights who had been mingling with the crowd instead of patrolling. 

Yuri turned back to the party, setting his sights on the second floor. Dilan was up there raising hell, and he’s just been given “orders” to take care of it. He slipped into the mansion after maneuvering through laughing and drunk nobles. The front room was less crowded then the outside, and the noise of music was muffled. A set of grand stairs with golden railings led up to the second floor and were guarded by a knight who looked dead on his feet as he leaned heavily against his spear. Yuri approached him with unwavering confidence.

“No one—“

“I’m here to relieve you.”

The knight wore a helmet so Yuri couldn’t see his expression. “Really?” he asked, his voice distorted.

“Yeah, you look like you need it.”

“I’ve been standing here for hours. It took you long enough to show up! I can’t wait to get back to my bunk,” the knight grumbled before ambling away.

Yuri watched him go in disbelief. He hadn’t expected that to go so well. Repede barked smugly at the retreating knight before starting to climb the stairs. Yuri went after him, his heart rate beginning to pick up.

The upstairs was empty of partygoers and lit only by the moonlight.  The sound of a woman’s muffled sobbing filled the hall, putting Yuri on edge. Repede had stopped at one of the closed doors and was sniffing at the floor in front of it. The sobbing was loudest when he stood in front of the door, and Yuri lingered outside it for a moment before continuing down the hall. He couldn’t burst into a room and expect to be welcomed with open arms. The woman could be Dilan’s wife for all he knew.

One of the doors in the hall was open and a dim, flickering light shone into the hallway. Yuri approached it, his steps quiet on the carpeted floor as Repede followed behind him. The room was empty, and the woman was still sobbing a few doors down. Yuri stepped into the room. The bed looked both comfortable and expensive and the furniture was wooden and fine. The fire in the grate had burned down to almost nothing but coals.

Repede growled and faced the balcony, where the stain glass doors had been thrown open. Male voices drifted into the room, and Yuri moved to the right side of the doorway to get a better look. He peered around the edge and saw two men standing on the balcony, one leaning against the railing. Both had their backs to him. The one leaning on the railing was fat and very tall, easily a few heads taller than Yuri. The other was much shorter and slimmer. He had dark shoulder length hair and stood with ramrod straight posture with his hands held behind his back.

 “-sure he wants me to _lighten up_ on the unwashed masses? These people are diseased and uneducated and more than half of them aren’t even Imperial citizens.” The one leaning on the balcony stood up and stepped into the shorter one’s space. “They have less worth than dogs. The Commandant shouldn’t concern himself with _my_ city. You tell him that if he has a problem with how I govern Heliord he can say goodbye to fifty votes on the Council.”

Yuri was still holding the knight’s spear in his hand and his grip tightened at these words. He was certain the tall man was Dilan, which meant the other must have been the First Captain. He had no interest in trying to murder the First Captain and resolved himself to wait until the man left. He could kill Dilan just as he had murdered Ragou, in his sleep.

Silence had descended on the balcony as Dilan glowered down at the First Captain, who refused to face him. The sobbing that had become a drone in the background chose that moment to rise in volume and the tension was broken.

“That damn woman! I thought I ordered for her to be taken care of!” Dilan snarled as he turned toward the doorway.

Yuri’s heart flew into his throat as he turned away from the glass doors, scanning the room in a panic. His eyes landed on a nearby armoire, and he rushed towards it. He dropped his spear before jumping inside to hide. He had seen Repede slip under the bed when the dog saw his fear, and hoped neither one of them would be discovered.

“I’ll break her damn neck!” Dilan was screaming now. “Lowborn scum should be grateful I even wanted to have her, the whiny sl—“

Dilan’s tirade abruptly cut off, and Yuri heard what sounded like a scuffle. He nudged the door of the armoire open a bit and peered out, but saw nothing.

“Schawnn, what do you think y—“ Dilan cut off with a terrified cry that was followed by a muffled thump.

Yuri’s blood went cold. Had he just overheard what he thought he’d overheard? He peered out of the armoire again, only to see the form of the First Captain making his way into the room. He stopped in the middle of the room, panting as if he’d just run a long way. His back was lit up by the white light of the moon, and his front was tinted orange by the dying fire in the grate. All Yuri could make out was a curtain of hair covering the man’s face.

The Captain’s breathing evened out as his head tilted down. Yuri’s eyes widened when he saw what the Captain was peering at. The spear Yuri had dropped was lying in front of the Captain’s foot. In one fluid motion the Captain went into a defensive stance and rested his hand on the sword that hung at his hip. Yuri tried to move father back into the armoire but only succeeded in disturbing the hangers around him. At the noise, the Captain’s head snapped towards him.

Yuri’s heart stopped when the Captain’s one visible eye met his through the crack of the doors.


	12. Ten: Selfish, At Best

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was a tough one to write, but I think it was worth it, in the end. Thank you to everyone who subscribed, commented, left kudos, and bookmarked. Every little bit of reaction I get to this makes me grin like a madwoman. Thank you also to my beta, StardustAndAsh, who is invaluable.

The Captain didn't say a word as he began to approach the armoire, his mouth set into a grim line. Yuri pulled the assassin’s knife from his stolen belt and prepared to fight. He had no hope of talking his way out of this, especially when he was sure he’d just overheard the First Captain murder one of his colleagues.

Yuri burst from the armoire just as the Captain took a step towards it. He swung the knife in a smooth arc towards the man’s face, and the clang of two weapons colliding filled the bedroom. Yuri jumped back, preparing to ward off an attack but was surprised when none came. Repede had sprung from under the bed but hadn’t tried to attack the man. He instead let out one loud and reproachful bark. Yuri shifted his eyes back to Captain Schwann’s face and felt his heart forget to beat for a moment.

Staring dumbstruck back at Yuri was _Raven_. Even with hair covering half of his face, he was unmistakable. Yuri was certain that he must have lost his mind because there was _absolutely_ no way that Raven was the First Captain of the knights. It was ridiculous. The surprise on Raven’s face quickly morphed into an unreadable mask. The blank expression was so out of place that Yuri wondered if this might be Raven’s twin instead.

“Dammit, kid, what took ya so long? I thought he was gonna kill that girl, and ya still hadn’t shown up.”

That drawl was unmistakable. Yuri’s heart was beating so fast and loud that he could barely hear himself think. Raven had been lying to him since they first met. “What the hell is this? Just who the hell do you think you are?”

Raven opened his mouth to reply with undoubtedly more lies but was interrupted by shouting and the sound of metal boots racing down the hallway.

“Let me handle this,” Raven said just as the door flew open.

The large female knight from earlier stood in the doorway, her face twisted into a snarl of pure rage. “Captain Dilan is dead! I will tear apart whoever is responsible!” Her brown eyes focused their anger onto Raven. “Schwann wha—“

“Dilan died by his own folly. He was intoxicated when he tumbled from the balcony,” Raven’s voice was cold, and there wasn’t a single hint of the drawl Yuri had grown to love.  

"He what?" the knight snarled. She set her burning eyes onto Yuri. "You! This is your fault! I sent you up here to take care of things!"

Yuri took a step back and raised his sword as Repede snarled at the lieutenant. He was still disguised as a knight, but even when he had been one for real, he had no qualms about defending himself from crazed superior officers. 

Before the enraged knight could step into the room, Raven moved to stand between them. "Lieutenant Rosaline." His voice was sharp, and it made him sound like a disapproving father. "Dilan's death was no one's fault but his own. Now, move aside."

A few moments of tense silence passed between them before the fuming lieutenant moved. Raven walked through the doorway with graceful determination. Yuri glanced around the bedroom but saw that the only other exit was the balcony. He reluctantly followed, leaving his sword unsheathed. Repede followed after him while still growling at everyone in sight. There was no guarantee that Raven wouldn't turn on him at any moment. If he did, Yuri needed to be ready to fight for his life. 

The hallway was packed with knights that were gaping at the scene Raven and the lieutenant were causing. Yuri felt terribly exposed and regretted not finding a helmet with the rest of his disguise. He hardly wanted to be recognized by someone he once knew and have word get back to Flynn about all this.

"Officer William," Raven spoke to a short and burly man standing to the side of Lieutenant Rosaline, his voice still pitched into that unrecognizable tone. "Take these knights and clear the premises of guests."

"Yes, sir." William saluted before barking orders at the assembled knights. A group broke away and scrambled to comply.

As the knights scurried down the hall, one of the doors opened, and a small woman in a torn dress and smeared makeup peered out. She was shaking, and her eyes were wide as she took in the commotion in the hall. Yuri saw Raven tense from head to toe as the lieutenant made an irritated noise at the sight of her. The moment the women set eyes on Rosaline, she let out a yelp of fear and made to run through the crowd. Some of the gathered knights tried to stop her.

“Let her go,” Raven commanded, and the knights cleared the way.

The woman disappeared into the crowd, but not before Yuri caught the sound of another sob. He felt guilty at the sight of her as Raven’s words came back to him. If he hadn’t gotten arrested, he might have gotten here earlier, and he could have stabbed Dilan before he laid hands on her.

"Lieutenant, I trust you can take care of the arrangements for the body,” Raven continued on as if the woman had never appeared. Yuri’s anger rose. Raven was just at fault as he was. He could have thrown Dilan from a balcony long before tonight.

Rosaline scowled suspiciously down at Raven before giving a resentful, "Yes, sir."

She ordered the remaining knights in the hall to follow her, and soon Raven, Yuri, and Repede were once again alone. Repede had stopped snarling and watched Yuri and Raven intently.

“Yuri,” the clinical tone was gone, and in its place was something quiet and unsure, “I—“

“What are playing at? You pretend to be some slime ball from the guilds, and then chew me out and tell me this is all a bad idea. Then you go and do it yourself! Is this what you do to entertain yourself in your spare time? Fuck with people’s heads?”

“Keep yer voice down, alright,” Raven spoke in just above a whisper. “I know I got a lot ta explain, but we don’t got enough time right now.” He took the few steps needed to shorten the space between them. “I wasn’t just pretendin’ ta be a slime ball from the guilds. I _am_ a slime ball from the guilds, as well as a Captain.”

Yuri felt a flash of irritation at the fact that Raven was completely unconcerned about his still drawn sword. “And what’s stopping me from going out there and telling every knight I can find just what you really are?” he snarled.

Raven’s one visible eyebrow rose before he let out a short and sharp laugh. “Ya can go ahead and try, but none a them are gonna believe ya over _Schwann Oltorain, First Captain of the knights_.” He switched his tone back into that cold, unrecognizable one, and moved his arms out in a flourish at the end, tilting his head to the side.

Yuri’s anger reached its peak, and he attacked. Raven smoothly stepped aside, but didn’t draw his own blade. Repede still stood silently, his good eye now focused on Raven alone.

“I get that yer pissed, but we can’t duke it out right now. Did ya not just hear me say we don’t got any time?”

“You are such a bastard!” Yuri swung at him again for good measure, and Raven sidestepped in return.

“Yeah, but you knew that before all this went down,” Raven shook his head. “If yer done tryin’ ta cut me in half, I’ll let tell ya where Karol is, and how ta get outta the city quick and easy. Can’t have good ol’ Rosaline try comin’ after ya.”

Yuri’s anger flooded out of him at the sound of Karol’s name. He couldn’t believe he’d left Karol all alone with this lying bastard.

“What did you to him?” Yuri demanded, suddenly unsure if Raven’s previous kindness to the boy had been an act or not.

Raven stepped back again as if Yuri had swung his sword instead, a wounded look on his face. “Hey, now. I’d never do anythin’ ta hurt a kid. He’s at one of my houses, safe and sound. He’s the one who convinced me ta help ya out, ya know. I was gonna leave ya here ta yer own devices, but he threw a fit. Said we couldn’t leave ya behind.” Raven pulled a brass key from one of his pockets and held it out to Yuri. “The house is down on the third level, on Jennings St, number 5790. This key unlocks a trapdoor in the basement that leads to a passage that’ll get ya and the kid outta this damned city.”

The key shone in the lamp light of the hallway, and Yuri lowered his sword. Raven’s words had cut deep, and there was a genuine hurt in his tone the led Yuri to believe he wasn’t lying. Yuri sheathed his sword and took the key from Raven’s hand. Raven nodded before shifting his face back into an unreadable mask and headed towards the stairs. The key felt heavy in Yuri’s hand, and he found that he couldn’t get his mouth moving to tell Raven where he could stick his help and his key.

“A week.” Raven’s voice cut across the hall, but Yuri didn’t turn to face him. “In a week, I’ll be at a pub in Dahngrest called Comet. Whether ya wanna fight or want some answers, stop by. I’ll be waitin’.”

Silence filled the hall, and Yuri finally forced himself to turn around. He just caught the sight of Raven’s back as he disappeared down the stairs. He felt betrayed, guilty, and angry, but in the middle of that was a wisp of relief. This didn’t have to be the end of it, if he didn’t want it to be.

“Damn you, old man,” Yuri said to the empty staircase.

~10~

The house wasn’t a mansion and belonged to a small section of the city where a merchant middle class lived. It was two stories tall with a thin line of green lawn out in front of it and had the same intricate grey stone façade as all the houses around it. The windows were all dark except for one on the second floor. Yuri was having trouble wrapping his mind around the fact that Raven actually owned property, much less that he probably had houses all across Terca Lumireis.

The streets were just as empty as they had been when he’d made his way to the party, and for that Yuri was grateful. His exhaustion had hit him again with a vengeance, but he still had to face Karol after trying to leave him behind. Yuri wasn’t sure what to do with the fact that Karol was the reason Raven had used his illustrious identity to try and help Yuri murder someone.

Yuri was standing on the small front lawn, with Repede sniffing at the front door.  He kept trying to get his legs to move up the short front staircase so he could knock on the door, but so far he had just hovered in the yard like a fool. He was still reeling from everything that had happened at the mansion, from Dilan’s scream as he fell, to the sobbing girl running away, to Raven standing there and telling Yuri that he was some sort of double agent. _He’s the first Captain of the knights, but he’s also Raven, from the guilds. He must be spying for the Empire, but why would someone with so much influence be doing something so risky? Why the hell would he help Karol and I out, especially now that we know his secret? He has no reason to trust us with it, and we have no reason to trust him._

Repede grew impatient and started to bark, knocking Yuri from his thoughts. Before he could try and quiet his friend, the door to the house burst open. Karol almost tripped over Repede in his haste to rush down the stairs.

“Yuri! You’re OK!”

Karol stopped a few feet from Yuri. Though relief gleamed in his eyes, he was visibly unsure of what say or do. He didn’t have his gloves or shoes on, and his bag was missing, but he looked healthy and whole. Yuri noted that no else appeared to be in the house.

“Where’s Raven?” Karol asked when Yuri remained silent. “He said he was going to make sure you didn’t get killed. He’s not hurt, is he?”

Yuri was surprised at Karol’s concern for the man. He didn’t seem very upset about Raven’s lies or Yuri’s illegal activities. Before Yuri could speak, clanking footsteps rang from the nearby stone staircase.

"Let's get inside," Yuri said.

Repede dashed through the open doorway and flash of panic crossed Karol's face before he followed. In a few moments Yuri had strode into the house and softly closed the door behind him. The air in the house was stale, and the furniture was covered with sheets that shone silver in the moonlight. Repede paced around the front room, before lying down on a sheet covered couch. An orange light glowed from the hall upstairs, and it dimly reminded Yuri of the contrasted lighting in Dilan's room. Karol was standing on the first step of the stairs and was watching Yuri carefully. His skin looked far too pale.

“Karol,” Yuri began, trying to keep his voice from taking on a sharp edge, “do you have any idea what happened tonight?”

Karol gulped, and took an unsteady step forward. “Y-yes. You went to stop the leader of this city from h-hurting anyone else.”

“And how did I do that?”

Karol looked down at his sock clad feet.

“I-I know that you k-killed him, I’m not stupid.” He looked up, and his eyebrows drew together in determination as he met Yuri’s eyes.

“I know that’s why you wanted me to leave with Raven, but I don’t care that you k-killed him, or the governor at Nor. You’re hurting b-bullies to protect everyone else, and I don’t see anything wrong with that.”

For a moment Yuri wondered if he’d really known Karol at all. He certainly hadn’t expected that crying boy from Halure to stand in front of him and tell him that he thought murdering corrupt leaders was perfectly acceptable behavior. Something wasn’t quite right.

“Is there anyone waiting for you back in Dahngrest?”

Karol’s resolve fell apart as he was blindsided by Yuri’s sudden change in topic. “Um, no,” he replied in a small voice.

“Don’t just agree with me and my actions because you feel like you don’t have anywhere else to go.”

Karol gasped in shock at Yuri’s words before stepping off the stairs to stand in front of Yuri. Karol was shaking as he balled his hands into fists. “I’m not just agreeing blindly. I told you that I’m not stupid! I _do_ think what you’re doing isn’t bad. There’s been so many times I just wished—“ he scrunched up his face like he was in pain. “I wished that the people that hurt me and Nan would just disappear! That’s what you’re doing for these people, Yuri. You’re making those bad guys disappear.”

A flare of protectiveness filled Yuri’s chest at Karol’s words. He found himself wanting to know what had happened and who had hurt Karol. He wanted to do something to get rid of the pain that marred a face far too young for it. The urge blindsided him, and Yuri wondered just when he’d started to care so much. Karol had the wrong impression, though, and he needed to fix it. Karol couldn’t become like him.

“I’m not a hero, Karol,” Yuri said quietly, “I’m doing this because the right way was too hard for me. I need results fast, and so I strike at what I see as the root of the problem. That makes me impatient and selfish, at best. ” He stepped closer. “Karol, you shouldn’t be alright with this.”

“B-but what else can you do? The only thing that stops bad guys is strength.”

“You think that my sneaking around and stabbing old men in the dark is strength?” Yuri shook his head. “That’s not strength. Strength is—“

Yuri’s mind focused on a memory, one that still haunted him even after he gave up on his attempt at being a knight.

“I have this friend, Flynn, and he’s like a brother to me. We grew up together and shared everything, including pain. There was this time when we were maybe six years old, running around the Lower Quarter like it was a giant playground. We made a wrong turn and ran into a small gang, literally. They were furious and started beating the crap out of us.

"We weren’t in some back alley, we were on a main street. There were knights hanging out in front of a nearby building, and they didn’t do anything to interfere. In fact, they laughed before walking off. The only reason we didn’t get beaten to death was because some of the locals intervened instead. I was so angry, and not just at the bastards who’d beaten us up for no reason, but at the knights for not doing what they were supposed to. I wanted to find a way to get back at everyone who had hurt us. But Flynn didn’t see it that way. He was angry, but instead of wanting revenge like me, he told me that this showed that we had to change things. When we grew up we had to make it so the knights actually gave a damn and make sure the Lower Quarter didn’t have rogue gangs prowling the streets. He was so young, but he was already so strong.

"That’s what strength is, Karol. It’s taking pain and using it to make something better. I promise you that murdering bullies isn’t the answer.” For the first time since he’d met Karol, Yuri found himself unable to make eye contact.

“T-then why?” Karol’s voice was pitched high, and it cracked with unshed tears. “Why are you doing this if you think it’s wrong?”

“I told you, I couldn’t do the right thing, so I’m doing what has to be done instead. I’m better suited for it.” Yuri let out a weak laugh that cut off abruptly. “You shouldn’t stick with me after we get to Dahngrest. Go join another guild and try to make things better in the city. You’re stronger than you know.”

Yuri finally looked at Karol and saw him staring back with wide eyes that shown with unshed tears. His mouth was hanging open. A moment passed before he gave Yuri a small smile.

“N-no one’s ever called me strong before.” He rubbed the back of his head. “At this point, I don’t know how many guilds would be w-willing to accept me. Why can’t I stay with you? You shouldn’t be doing this alone. I-I know your friend Flynn wouldn’t want you to be alone.”

Yuri snorted to cover up the clench of his stomach. “Flynn would probably want me arrested if he found out about everything. You really want to stick it out?”

“Yes,” Karol was looking Yuri in the eye again, and this time his solid determination was ruined by a brilliant smile.

Yuri put his hand on his hip. "I never would have pegged you as the stubborn sort."

“I've let too many people leave me behind already. You’re stuck with me.” Karol’s smile wavered and he kicked one of his feet against the hardwood of the stairs. “You still haven't told me where Raven is.”

Yuri was knocked out of the fondness that had been gathering in his chest at the reminder of what had happened earlier in the night. "Raven's fine. He has business in the city. I'm surprised he didn't tell you."

Karol bit his lip before replying, "H-he didn't tell me anything. He wouldn't let me go with him to help you and told me to wait here for you guys to get back."

"He didn't tell you whose house this is?"

Karol paused for moment, obviously confused. "He just said it belonged to a friend of his. Yuri, w-what's going on?"

Yuri realized then that Karol wasn't upset about Raven's lies because he didn't know about them. If he had known he wouldn't have been able to hide his distress this well. The boy was an open book, after all.

"Nothing," Yuri lied. He would tell Karol the truth, but now wasn't the time. He didn't have the energy to deal with Karol’s tears in the face of such a betrayal. "I was just curious." He walked further into the house and entered the living room, scanning it for the stairway down into the basement. "Raven gave me a key and said it unlocked a passage in the basement. We need to head out right away.”

Karol shifted his weight from foot to foot. "I'll get my stuff and then we can go."

He turned and rushed up the stairs, his feet pounding loudly on the wood.

Yuri felt lightheaded but steeled himself to keep moving. He didn't have time to rest. Repede whined from the couch, and Yuri forced himself to walk over. The dog scooted over to make room, and Yuri allowed himself to sit down. He would be walking for another few hours at least. There was nothing wrong with sitting down for a few minutes. He closed his eyes and was asleep in moments.


	13. Eleven: Dragon Rider

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to my beta, StardustAndAsh.

The sickly sweet smell of fruit cooking invaded Yuri’s hazy dreams. His consciousness slowly waded its way out of the curving, dark corridors, and the overwhelming sense of being lost. Yuri cracked open his sluggish eyes to see a dusty room and sheet covered furniture. His neck and back were sore, and he had a headache. He lifted his hand to his face, only to be unpleasantly reminded that he was still wearing armor. No wonder he felt like shit. Yuri couldn’t believe he’d let himself fall asleep last night. He was supposed to have left the city in the cover of darkness. Not in the middle of the day, if the light streaming in from the curtains was anything to go on. Yuri could hear the noises of the city leaking into the house, a stark contrast to the silence of the previous night.

The smell of cooking was only growing stronger. Yuri forced himself to stand up on stiff legs. Neither Repede nor Karol were anywhere in sight, and so he wandered out of the living room and into the main foyer of the house. Yuri almost tripped over a box that was sitting in the middle of the foyer. He swore and went to kick it aside but stopped short when he saw what lay inside of it. A red scarf was lying innocuously amongst new black clothes, and his black and red sword was sticking out of the box. Yuri kneeled down and picked the scarf up to check it over. He saw familiar tears and warn patches and couldn’t keep a smile from breaking across his face. He had never thought that he’d get Clay’s scarf back.

His smile wavered when he remembered the words he’d spoken to Karol the night before. He looked back at the now bright and empty stairs and felt the weight of his own words bearing down on him. Everything he’d told Karol last night was true. He could dress it up as much as he wanted to, but in the end he’d always known he was following in Clay’s footsteps more for himself that anyone else. His grip on the scarf tightened for a moment before he let it go. The soft fabric slipped through his fingers like a caress before gently landing back in the box. He stared down at the crimson amongst the black and remembered Clay’s letter, as he had a thousand times before.

_I know that soon you will move past this and begin to rage at the many injustices in this world again._

Yuri shook his head. Sometimes he wondered if Clay had known him better than he’d known himself. Regardless of the base reasons for why he had killed Ragou, and sought to kill Dilan, he would still feel fury when faced with injustice. The next bastard who inspired such all-consuming anger in him would taste the edge of his blade, of that he was sure. He just had to make sure Karol didn’t decide to follow him as Yuri had followed Clay. Yuri had signed away his chance at being truly good the moment he’d beaten Terrence bloody on the floor of his office, but Karol was a different story.

“Hey, you’re awake!” Karol appeared in a doorway in the hall to Yuri’s right. His grin was so large it looked like it might split his face in two. “I made breakfast! You should come eat.”

Karol disappeared through the doorway before Yuri could say a word. Yuri sighed and reluctantly left the foyer. The doorway Karol had gone through led to a small kitchen that was painted in pale green and white. Repede was lying by what appeared to be a back door and set his good eye on Yuri the moment he walked through the doorway. Repede’s gaze was knowing, and Yuri quickly looked away. A wooden and glass table set sat off to the side, and two bowls of roasted cherries and cream sat invitingly on it.

“You make this by yourself, Captain?” Yuri asked with a small smirk.

“A-almost,” Karol said as he sat down at the table. “I had a little help. Raven showed up early this morning!”

Yuri’s stomach lurched.

“He had a package and some food, and he looked kinda weird ‘cause his hair was down and he was dressed really nice. He said he had to go in disguise like you,” Karol motioned to Yuri’s armor with his spoon. “He helped me get started, but then he had to go. He was really surprised we were still here, but I think he was a little happy, too.” Karol took a bite. “This is good!” he exclaimed before digging in with gusto.

Yuri just watched him eat for a couple moments and felt terrible. Karol still didn’t know anything about who Raven was, and it appeared Raven had no qualms about keeping up the charade. A flash of anger almost made Yuri blurt out the whole story right there, but Karol was so upbeat that he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

 _Dahngrest._ Yuri told himself. _I’ll tell him once we get to Dahngrest._

“Y-you okay?” Karol asked after gulping down another mouthful.

Yuri forced himself to go and sit at the table. “I’m just wondering why you didn’t wake me up last night. We were supposed to leave right away.”

Karol looked down at his bowl guiltily before taking a deep breath and pointing his spoon at Yuri accusingly, spraying pieces of fruit and milk across the table. “You needed to sleep! You looked terrible last night, and b-besides Raven agreed with me that you needed the rest.”

Yuri started eating to distract himself from Karol’s determined face. He supposed he had been exhausted, or he wouldn’t have fallen asleep on a dusty couch, still dressed in armor.

“Are you and Raven still fighting?” Karol suddenly asked, and Yuri looked up sharply.

“Of course not,” he lied. “What makes you say that?”

“When I told you he was here you looked really upset. He really didn’t want to be here when you woke up, either. I mean, he said he had work to do, but I could tell he was just trying to leave sooner.” Karol’s bowl was empty, but he still held his spoon in a tight grip.

Yuri sighed. Maybe he should tell Karol the truth now. He opened his mouth to say it, but found himself at a loss for words. The betrayal he’d felt last night still gripped his heart in an unyielding fist, and he realized that he couldn’t talk about it. Not until he settled things with that bastard.

“Y-yuri?” Karol asked, his eyes widening in worry.

Yuri put down his own spoon. “We had a disagreement last night. We’ll sort things out in Dahngrest. Don’t worry about it, Captain.” Yuri waved one of his hands nonchalantly.

Karol bit his lip. “Fine, but I still don’t get why you guys are always mad at each other,” he mumbled as he got up from the table, taking his dishes with him. He dropped the dishes in the sink and turned to leave the kitchen.

“I’m ready to go when you are,” he said before leaving.

Yuri went back to eating. The only sound in the kitchen was his spoon smacking against the side of the bowl and Repede’s quiet breathing.  

He didn’t know what to think about the fact that Raven was the one that had brought him back Clay’s scarf.

~11~

The wind in the trees was rhythmic, and it mixed with the sounds of wildlife to create a peaceful harmony that should have been able to lull anyone to sleep. The gentle sounds had worked wonderfully on Karol, whose snoring mixed with the night chorus, and Repede, who slept comfortably by the fire. The sounds had little effect on Yuri, who paced around the camp. After his long overdue rest the night before, Yuri could hardly hope to find sleep again tonight. The chain he used to carry his sword was clenched in a tense grip, and he wore the new set of clothes that had been in the package Raven had left. He’d almost kept wearing the stolen armor out of spite, but the clothes fit better than expected. He had to begrudgingly admit that they were just his style, as well.

With every rub of new cotton on his skin, his dread at their impending arrival to Dahngrest grew. They would be at the city by tomorrow night. In few short days, the week Raven had given him to decide would be up. Yuri was more tempted by the hour to simply not go. He could get over his stupid crush, or whatever it was, and let Raven lie to someone else. He could tell Karol the damn truth so the boy would stop talking about Raven like he was the greatest thing since the discovery of barrier blastia.

Yuri’s gaze fell on a white form walking through the woods just outside of the camp, and his brooding screeched to a halt. He was vividly reminded of the wraith-like man moving through the woods outside of Zaphias. The same man quietly telling Yuri that they were standing in front of his metaphorical grave.

“Duke,” he whispered.

The form stopped moving and turned around at the sound of his name, though Yuri couldn’t understand how he had heard. Yuri’s heart stuttered in fear as two red eyes, which glowed slightly in the dark, stared right at him. Repede and Karol were still fast asleep. Yuri stood and walked across the camp and into the trees, his curiosity outweighing his trepidation. Just as he neared where Duke stood, the man turned again and continued walking.

“Hey, wait!” Yuri called.

He sped up and soon overtook the willowy man. Duke continued to walk at a steady pace, and Yuri followed along beside him. Duke was still as unnerving as ever, but as they walked further from camp, Yuri felt his thoughts evening out. The worries that had nagged him for days fell away, and instead he felt wonder at the strange person walking calmly beside him.

“Where are we going?” he asked after what seemed like hours of silence.

“I do not know where you are going,” Duke replied in that familiar monotone. His voice was still as shockingly deep as ever. “As for myself, I go to speak with an ally.”

“Oh, so there’s going to be a dragon this time? Why am I not surprised?”

Duke hummed in reply, and Yuri wondered if he should be more concerned than he was. He didn’t want to become dragon food, after all.

“You remind me of someone I once knew,” Duke intoned as they reached a break in the trees. They stepped out onto a flat plain of grass that ended abruptly at a cliff. Duke continued walking steadily towards the edge.

“Really? You’re not like anyone I’ve ever met.”

Duke let out a puff of air that Yuri could only assume was amusement. Duke stopped a few feet from the edge of the cliff, and Yuri followed suit. The night sky was bright with stars, but the forest that stretched out before them was an unbreakable mass of black. Yuri could see Dahngrest lit up like an orange beacon on the horizon, and the sight of the city reminded him of all he’d managed to forget for a few precious minutes.

“He was also a young fool who insisted on sticking his nose in my business.”

“Young fool, huh? Glad to see I’ve made such a great impression,” Yuri replied dryly, trying his best to forget again. “I’m not sticking my nose into your business. You’re the one who keeps showing up everywhere I camp. You’re not stalking me, are you?”

“I would never stoop to such a disgraceful act. Our meetings are nothing more than coincidence.”

Yuri’s reply was drowned out by an earsplitting cry, and the same dragon that he’d seen swoop down at Ehmead Hill landed heavily to their right. Sitting atop its back was a warrior dressed head to toe in bone white armor with a wicked black spear was strapped to their back. Yuri supposed he really shouldn’t be surprised that some crazy bastard with a penchant for blowing up blastia was friends with someone like Duke.

“It’s not often I find you in another human’s company, especially one so handsome,” the warrior spoke, and the gentle pitch of a woman’s voice filled the night. “Who is this, Duke? I doubt he’s a _friend_ of yours.”

“He is of little importance.” Duke gave Yuri a pointed glance before he began approaching his companion. “We have much to discuss. The tower of Ghasfarost only grows more troublesome each day that is it left unchecked.”

Yuri put his hand on his hip, a bit miffed at being so easily disregarded. “I thought I was a young fool sticking his nose in your business. Which seems to be consorting with crazies who go around blowing up blastia.”

Duke stopped walking but didn’t turn around. A small flash of red energy flickered at his fingertips. Yuri felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up, and the calm that had settled over him shattered. He had the feeling he’d overstayed his welcome.

“Oh?” the woman spoke up, gracefully jumping down from her dragon mount. She rested an armor clad hand on the creature’s side. “Are you one of my adoring fans? I have so many of them. They all shout at me to ‘Come back!’ and ‘Face justice like a man!’” She let out a low chuckle, and slowly pulled the spear from her back. “If only they knew.”

She took a few steps towards Yuri, her spear poised to attack. Yuri quickly drew his own sword and braced for a fight.

“Judith,” Duke cut in-between them, the red magic from earlier dancing freely across his knuckles. The light made both the woman’s armor and Duke’s hair glow crimson in the darkness. “Now is not the time.”

Judith huffed and slowly pulled herself from her fighting stance. “You always ruin all my fun.” She set her spear upright and leaned on it. “Well, either way, he needs to go. No matter how big of a fan he is, he can’t hear all of my trade secrets.”

Duke looked over at Yuri, his red eyes glowing with the same light that danced at his hands. Yuri felt his grip on his sword tighten and wondered vaguely if this was all just a nightmare. Duke closed his eyes, and the magic slowly dissipated from his hands.

“She is correct. It is time for you to leave.” He opened his eyes, and they had returned to their usual hue.

“You don’t have to tell me twice.” Yuri sheathed his sword and did his best to ignore how his hand was shaking. He turned from the scene with unsteady steps, and make his way back towards the distant firelight that marked the camp.

Yuri was tense until he broke through the trees. He kept expecting a spear or a ball of red magic to come flying after his retreating form. He stood at the edge of camp, and saw that nothing had changed during his departure. He sat down heavily and sighed. He had chased after a curiosity to distract himself, but now he only had more to keep him from sleep. He must have been cursed. It was only explanation for how he always managed to run into trouble.

A snap of nearby twig had Yuri’s head spinning towards the noise, but there was nothing there. He finally let himself look over his shoulder, but no red eyes stared back him.

Judith had called Duke human, but somehow Yuri seriously doubted that was the case.


	14. Twelve: Haven't Given Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Where does the time go? You blink and months have passed. It’s incredible, really.  
> Thank you to my beta, StardustAndAsh, for tackling this beast of a chapter.

As the party drew closer, Dahngrest steadily grew in size until it filled the horizon. It was a city to rival Zaphias, but the two were unlike in many ways. While Yuri’s hometown was full of steel, granite, and cobblestones, Dahngrest was all bronze, wood, and red bricks. Dahngrest had a more relaxed atmosphere than the subtle anxiety that filled Zaphias’ main streets. Huge chains held up buildings and bridges hung across the city, giving it an unorganized look that was in stark contrast to the neat, layered streets that Yuri as used to.  

There was a huge backup of travelers trying to get into the city. All of them were lined up on the bridge to the East entrance. Karol, Repede, and Yuri stopped at the end of the line. Even from the other end of the bridge, Yuri could hear the noises of the city filling the twilight. Dahngrest was bustling and alive, and Yuri was reminded of why he had always enjoyed it when Clay and he had stopped here in the past.

Yuri scanned the crowd and sighed. Dahngrest didn’t require papers to get into, but the five Master Guilds had collectively agreed on a list of illegal items and substances that weren’t allowed in the city. All the incoming travelers were checked over and their belongings inspected.

“We’ll be waiting for a long time,” Karol commented as he worried the strap of his bag, “but when we get inside the city, I know a cheap place we can stay.”

“It’s not a total dump, is it?”

Karol took a step back as his cheeks flushed. “Of-of course not! It’s a very nice inn, and the lady who owns it is really nice, too!”

“If you say so, Captain,” Yuri replied blandly.

“Well, it is,” Karol huffed as Yuri smirked down at him.

Silence settled between them. Karol began fidgeting, and Yuri pulled his gaze to Repede, who was sniffing around on the other side of the bridge. Yuri had yet to tell Karol the truth about what had happened in Heliord and this was an opportune moment. Karol and he were anonymous in the line, as everyone around them was more concerned with their own business. Yuri reminded himself that he needed to tell Karol the truth, even if it was difficult.  

“Karol.”

“What is it, Yuri?”

“In Heliord—“

“Well, look who it is! What are you doing here, you little shit?” A drawling voice interrupted Yuri.

A thin teenager with a face full of pimples was sneering in Karol’s direction. He was flanked by two other boys, one with a large nose and the other with a scar running down the side of his face. They had materialized out of the lineup in front of Yuri and Karol and were now blocking their way.

“I thought we finally chased you out of town,” the one with the scar said with a vicious smile.

Karol took a step back, terror filling his eyes. “I-I..”

“Look at ‘im. Still a total wimp. Weren’t you with the Hunting Blades when you left?” The one with the large nose sneered down at Karol.  “You’re so useless that another guild tossed you out! How many’s that now, all of them?” He reached forward and shoved Karol to the ground.

Yuri unsheathed his sword and was between Karol and the group in a moment, and Repede rushed forward, snarling. “Just what the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“Oh look, the little shit’s got a bodyguard! How much is he paying you to watch out for his sorry ass?” The pimply-faced teenager pulled out a dagger and stepped forward with a vile smirk. “I’ll double it, and then you can help us beat him senseless.”

The people around them had backed away, and many of them were staring at the scene with interest. Yuri easily disarmed the boy. He held his sword at the teenager’s throat, and Repede circled him as fear spread across the boy’s face.

“Hold it!” a deep male voice rang out.

A man with messy red hair and an eye patch, of all things, stepped up to the confrontation. A few others trailed behind him, authority in all of their stances.

_So much for laying low._

“Charlie, how many times do I have to drag you to jail before you stop picking fights? If Felicia hears about this, you’ll be kicked out of the Risen Order,” the man scolded.

The pimply teenager was already pale from having Yuri’s sword at his throat, but his face became bone white at the man’s comment.

“That goes for the two of you, as well.” The redheaded man scowled at the boy’s cohorts. The two other teenagers turned to flee, but were grabbed by the man’s companions. The man paid their plight no mind and turned to Yuri. “You’ve made your point, now put away the sword.”

Yuri raised his eyebrows but didn’t pull back his weapon. “Karol, are you alright?”

“Y-yeah,” Karol mumbled as he got off the ground.

Yuri smoothly put away his sword. “You’re lucky this guy showed up, or you’d be dead.” He gave the blond teenager a sharp smile. He wouldn’t have actually killed the kid, but the look of terror he gave Yuri was well worth the threat. Served the bastard right for bullying Karol.

The men that had been following behind the redhead corralled the teenagers together and none too gently led them back towards the city. The silence that had descended on the bridge lifted as people began to gossip and get back into something resembling a line. The redhead hadn’t left and was staring at Yuri, Karol, and Repede with one sharp eye.

The man’s eye focused solely on Yuri. “What guild are you a member of? You have the attitude of someone from the Blood Alliance.”

Yuri put a hand on his hip. “I could ask you the same,” he easily deflected.

“I’m a member of Altosk,” the man replied, showing no sign that he was annoyed that Yuri hadn’t answered his question. “It’s our job to keep the peace. From what I’ve heard, you tend to do the opposite.”

Yuri felt himself tense at the comment. He was certain he’d never met this man before in his life. “I see my reputation precedes me.”

The man huffed and shook his head. “A mutual friend told me to keep an eye out for you. Said you’d probably cause trouble before you even stepped into the city. Looks like he was right.”

Yuri narrowed his eyes even as his heart lurched. “A mutual friend?”

“You seem like a smart guy. I think we both know who we’re talking about. He told me to get you a pass into the city and a place ready for you and the kid to stay until he gets here. If you’re interested?”

“Raven did all that?” Karol spoke up. “Wow, I didn’t know he was he was so important. Is he a member of Altosk, too?”

Yuri resisted the urge to rub his forehead in exasperation, and the redhead sighed.

“You guys are quite the characters. Raven made it out like you were a couple of dangerous spies in his letter, but you look pretty average to me. And, yeah, he’s in the guild. He’s my boss. If he says ‘jump’, I ask ‘how high’ and offer him a glass of scotch to go with it.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “If we’re using names, mine’s Noah. Now, are you coming, or not?”

Yuri stared hard at Noah, but he just impassively stared back. Although Yuri didn’t like the idea of going exactly where Raven wanted him to. Yuri did know a huge secret of his, and who knew what Raven might do to keep things quiet.

“I’d rather not.”

Noah shrugged. “If you want to pass up a free ride that’s your business.”

“W-wait! M-my name’s Karol, and this is Yuri.” Karol stepped forward and stood between them.

Noah peered down at Karol and gave him a small smile. “Nice to meet you. I’m glad to see someone around here has manners.”

Karol sputtered at the complement and quickly turned to face Yuri to hide his blush. “We should go with him. Raven’s just helping us, why shouldn’t we accept it?”

Yuri found himself staring right at another opportunity to tell Karol the truth. He would have if it hadn’t been for Noah watching them both intently. He wasn’t about to go and spill what he’d seen in Heliord to everyone he met.

“Fine,” Yuri said, looking at Noah instead of Karol. “If the place is dump, we’re going somewhere else,” he added to give himself a way to back out later.

“I don’t think that’s going to be a problem. It’s one of nicer inns in the city.”

Noah began to walk towards the front of the line, and Karol followed after him. Yuri and Repede trailed behind, as Yuri continued to doubt his decision. When Noah reached the line of guards at the end of the bridge, they moved aside without a word and barely spared the four of them a glance as they passed.

Walking through the twilight-filled streets brought on an onslaught of memories. The last time Yuri had walked these streets, Clay had been beside him. Now he maneuvered through the crowds with his eyes set on a stranger and Karol, wondering if he was walking into a trap. Karol kept looking over his shoulder at Yuri, as if checking that he was still there.

Noah led them to the center of the city, where many of the most powerful guilds had their headquarters. A statue of a giant bronze sword sat at the center of the circle of buildings, and it held the engraving, _Our swords serve our freedom. Our shields serve our friends. Our lives serve everyone._ Yuri remembered Clay scoffing at the sight of it, telling him that it was a propaganda piece the Don had commissioned. Yuri still liked it, especially because all of the statues in Zaphias were of past emperors and boring looking old men who had been knights or councilmen. The statue was interwoven into the tall spire that held the barrier blastia.

In the circle of buildings, a tall and thin red brick tower was marked at the Ruin’s Gate headquarters, the guild emblem of a gate cluttered with excavation tools glinted orange in the dying light. Yuri wanted to investigate the HQ and try to find more evidence of thefts, but he would have to wait until later tonight. He needed to deal with whatever Raven was planning, first.

They turned down one of the branching streets that lead to the west side of the city. The buildings only grew larger in size and less people milled around these wider streets. Noah finally stopped a few blocks away from the Center, in front of an inn that was four stories high and hosted multiple balconies. Yuri balked at the sight of it, as it was nicer than any place he had ever stayed. From Karol’s star-struck gaze, Yuri assumed he wasn’t the only one.

“Wow!” Karol beamed up at their escort, “I never thought I’d get to stay in the Yoeman Inn!”

“The boss must like you,” Noah commented offhandedly. This only made Karol smile wider. “Just tell the hostess that Noah sent you and give her this.” He held out a worn piece of paper, and Karol took it.

Noah didn’t bother saying goodbye before he turned and walked away.

“Come on, Yuri!” Karol waved the paper around in the air triumphantly before charging into the inn.

Yuri scowled at the cheery sign above the inn proclaiming that it held the softest beds in the city.

He looked down at Repede and sighed. “The old man is trying to bribe us into silence.”

Repede growled and went to lie down under one of the inn’s wide windows.

“You’re right. I shouldn’t let him get to me.” Yuri looked up and saw the stars just beginning to blink into existence in the darkening sky. “I’ll do what I have to, no matter what.”

~12~

The room they were staying in was large enough to pass as an apartment. If fit two full beds, a long wooden table, and two armoires. The bathroom was about the size of Yuri’s room back in Zaphias.

Yuri was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling while Karol sat at the table and scribbled away in his Monster Book. All throughout dinner Yuri had waited for Karol’s good mood to sour, but the boy had kept happily babbling on. Yuri was done trying to be gentle about it. He had to tell Karol the truth, and if Karol hated Raven for it, that was on the old man’s head, not Yuri’s.

Yuri opened his mouth, but Karol looked up from his book before Yuri could say a word. The boy’s brown eyes were sad, and the corners of his mouth were drawn downwards.

“S-sorry about earlier,” Karol mumbled as he looked back down at the pages of his book.  

“What are you talking about, Captain?” Yuri asked, though he wasn’t sure if he was relieved or annoyed that his opportunity had been stolen again.

“Those guys from earlier. They wouldn’t have bothered us if I wasn’t such a-“ Karol stopped abruptly, gripping his Monster Book tightly.

Yuri sat up. “You don’t need to apologize. Those guys were a bunch of bastards.”

“W-what they said was true. I’ve been kicked out of every guild I’ve ever j-joined. I-I keep thinking that maybe it would have helped if they had just beaten me up. Maybe then I’d wake up tomorrow and be d-different.”

Karol’s words hit Yuri like a tidal wave, and all his annoyance disappeared. “Karol, you’re not going to wake up one day and be someone else,” Yuri began as he got off the bed and approached Karol. “Everybody gets a certain lot in life and that’s what you have to work with. Getting the shit beaten out of you isn’t going to change that. Back when I was still a stupid kid, I wanted to be someone that I wasn’t. I tried as hard as I could to become like them, but it was never enough. I was still me.”

“Wh-what did you do?” Karol whispered, his eyes still glued to the book.

“I’ve decided to live my life as only I can, while doing what’s necessary. I’m not saying you can’t change. I’m just saying you don’t need to become someone else, especially if it’s for scum like those guys.”

Yuri raised his hand, and it hovered uncertainly just over Karol’s hunched shoulders. Finally he set it down on Karol’s right shoulder, and Karol finally lifted his eyes from the pages of his Monster Book.

“What if I want to be different for someone I cared about? The way I am now, I’m not good enough for her.”

“Are you talking about Nan?”

Karol looked away before closing his Monster Book and setting it on the table. “Yeah, but it doesn’t matter anymore. She’s given up on me.”

“Just because she has, doesn’t mean you have to. You need to keep moving forward. Besides, what about the people who haven’t given up on you?” Yuri squeezed Karol’s shoulder before letting go of it. “I think you can hold your own, Captain.”

Karol looked up again, and surprise flashed across his face before it was replaced by a hesitant smile. He looked back at the book before saying, “Thanks, Yuri.”

~12~

By the time Karol was fast asleep, the oppressive mugginess so common in Dahngrest had turned into a damp cool that wrapped around Yuri the minute he was clear of the inn’s threshold. He was going to go have a look the Ruin’s Gate HQ, and he did not want Karol to come along. Yuri was going to tell him all about what had happened in Heliord tomorrow, and Yuri wanted to let him rest before dropping a bomb like that.

Repede approached Yuri and barked in greeting.

“Thanks for waiting,” Yuri said as he started walking.

Yuri had a decent understanding of where the main streets in Dahngrest led, but he wasn’t sure about the street the inn was situated on. There were a collection of nice apartments and a small closed shop on the street, but the only thing that really stood out was the inn’s sign. He started heading in the direction they had come from, since he needed to get back to the center of the city.

The street lead Yuri and Repede back onto a major thoroughfare that was packed with people enjoying the night life of the city. There were at least three groups of drunks stumbling around and singing off key. Yuri knew some people might find the sight offensive, but it was a relief to him. He could remember the dark and deserted streets of Heliord and enjoyed seeing the proof that the populace of Dahngrest didn’t have a curfew hanging over their heads.

As Yuri walked, he kept an eye out for a bar called Comet. Though he had seen more taverns than he thought practical, he still hadn’t spied it. He scowled at a particularly gaudy sigh that depicted a bottle of wine with a crown thrown over it. He still hadn’t decided if he was going to meet with Raven or not. _Lot of good it does me if I’m staying exactly where he wants me to._ Yuri turned away from the flashing sign and kept trudging down the street. He had more important things to deal with right now. 

After maneuvering through a busy area where a few street performers were playing music and doing acrobatic stunts for the passerby’s amusement, Yuri and Repede finally made it back to the center of the city.

The windows of the Ruin’s Gate HQ were dark at such a late hour, but that was just what Yuri had wanted. He cut into the alley next to the building, the sharp stench of garbage assaulting his nose immediately. Repede and he made their way past a particular high pile of weeks old trash before they came upon a rusty side door. Yuri tried the doorknob, but it was predictably locked. He pulled out his picks and knelt down, careful to keep his knees from the filthy brick floor of the alley. Repede whined next to him.

"The smell's not that bad," Yuri grumbled as he worked the lock.

Repede growled in reply, and Yuri sighed.

The lock opened with a click. Yuri slipped his picks back into his belt and opened the door. Repede rushed in the moment there was an opening large enough for him, and Yuri waited for him to return. A minute later, Repede's nose poked out of the dark of the building, before disappearing back inside. Yuri finally stepped from the stench of the confined alleyway and into the warm dark of the Ruin's Gate headquarters. Despite the dark, Yuri still closed the door behind him. He hardly wanted some drunk to notice the door hanging wide open while he dug around inside.

He stood in front the door and waited for his eyes to adjust. His heart beat impatiently against his ribcage as his eyes slowly caught on the faint light wafting in from the front entrance's windows. He could hear Repede moving around and sniffing at everything. Yuri doubted Repede would be able to find anything. Yuri was following a paper trail, and he doubted it would have a specific scent.

He could finally make out his surroundings. The hall he stood in was bare, and the floor was plain and hardwood. A stairwell to his right led down to a basement floor and three steps lead up towards the front hall. Yuri went to the stairwell to the basement, knowing there'd be nothing of interest to him out in the open.

The stairwell was darker than the rest of the HQ. Yuri felt around on the wall until he hit a switch. He flicked it and a few blastia powered lights set in the wall along the stairwell came to life. Yuri doubted that the glow was bright enough to be seen from the front windows, so he made his way down the stairs.

 The basement floor was much larger than the narrow building above ground. It smelt musty and old and filled with shelves and shelves of books. Yuri had never seen so many books in his life. Repede had followed him down the stairs, and rushed off between two shelves with a bark. Yuri followed him, weaving his way through shelves and piles of books. He caught up to Repede and drew his sword at what greeted him.

Lying against the wall was a huge man, easily twice Yuri's height and berth. His midsection was brutalized, a gaping hole sitting in the middle of it. The hole was burnt, as if caused by a fireball. Yuri scanned his surroundings. The corpse didn't smell strongly, and the blood on the floor was still fresh, as Repede's bloody paw prints attested too. This kill was recent.

"I thought you gave the all clear," Yuri said as he scanned the multitude of shelves that surrounded them.

Repede let out an indignant bark before nudging Yuri's leg. Yuri lowered his sword.

"No one's here, then, just this body?" Yuri asked as he glanced back at the gory sight.

Repede barked again in confirmation. Yuri sheathed his sword in relief. He didn't want to end his night dodging fireballs.

He approached the dead man and looked him over more closely. The man had a small pouch gripped in his hand, and Yuri pried it from his fingers.

The sound of coins jangling together rang out as the Yuri pulled the pouch into his hand. He opened it and saw gald and gemstones sitting within. He pulled out a brilliantly red ruby and stared at it in awe for a few moments. There was only a few hundred gald in the pouch, but the gemstones were worth thousands.

Yuri slipped the stone back into the pouch and knelt back down by the body. Besides the hideous hole burned into the man's chest, he had no other injuries. Yuri looked up and scanned the shelves around him in thought. This man was probably murdered over blastia cores, since he had at least a hundred thousand gald worth in valuables on him. There wasn't much else Ruin's Gate dealt with that was worth so much.

"You left the light on?" A low-pitched female voice wafted down from upstairs, her tone exasperated.

Yuri swore and rushed to hide between two shelves, his heart pounding as footsteps rang out on the steps.


	15. Thirteen: Never Woulda Guessed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the kudos, bookmark, and comment!  
> Thank you to my beta StardustAndAsh.

Footsteps rang out on the steps as two voices drew closer.

"I don't remember about the damn light! I was a little preoccupied after being assaulted by a mad mercenary!" a man said, his voice hoarse and pitched high.

"Blasting an unarmed man with a fireball hardly counts as being assaulted!"

"You didn't see the size of him! I was certain he was going to break my neck for those damn blastia."

Yuri saw two people as he peered around the bookcase he had hidden behind. One was a voluptuous woman wearing revealing black mage robes, and the other was a thin man in a green cloak.

The woman approached the body and knelt down next to it. "You have to admit, this is going to look bad, Will."

“I thought you were on my side!"

"I am, but your claim of self-defense is flimsy, at best. I doubt Barbos or any of his ilk will believe it."

"Those morons should believe me, half of them are so stupid they can't even properly string words together. I'll tell them he threatened me and tried to make off with the blastia cores on his own."

"You said he offered you a lot of gald for them. Where is it? We're going to have to make sure it's far from here if we want your story to have any weight at all." The woman stood up and turned around to face Will, her hand resting at her hip.

Yuri took in a sharp breath when he remembered he was still holding the bag in a tight grip. He set the bag gently down onto one of the shelves before slowly sneaking back towards the stairs.

"He was still holding it when I killed him. It should be right here."

Yuri heard the two begin to argue again as he and Repede slowly approached the stairs. He put his foot down on the first step and felt an eerie cold wash over him. It made every hair on his body stand up. Yuri recognized it as the after effects of a detection spell, something he'd often encountered while traveling with Clay.

He swore as he bolted up the stairs with Repede. A shout followed him, and the sound of casting filled the air. He ducked around the wall at the top of the stairs just in time to avoid a fireball, a scorch mark left behind him.

A lightning spell shot up the stairs, arcing from surface to surface until it hit Repede. Yuri cried out as Repede collapsed.

"Dammit." Yuri spun around and grabbed his sheathed sword.

The woman had made it up the stairs, and Yuri whacked her in the face with his sheathed weapon. As her limp body hit the ground, another fireball came barreling up the stairs. Yuri danced out of the way, and felt the blazing heat just brush past him.

Yuri sent a shockwave of energy down the stairs, and it knocked Will over as he was casting. He fell in heap at the bottom of the stairs, his neck bent at an odd angle. Yuri felt a lurch of regret at the sight of the dead man, but he didn’t have time to dwell. Repede was still out, and Yuri had no idea if more mages were coming. He had only had apple gels on hand, and they weren’t enough to wake up Repede. He wrapped the chain he used to carry his sword around his belt before throwing Repede up onto his shoulders.  He slipped out the alley door he’d come through and stepped into an empty alleyway. Stirrings of unrest rang out from the street.

Yuri ducked out of the alleyway and deftly weaved through many more until he had returned to the inn. He set Repede down on the ground and slipped inside. The inn was near empty at the late hour, and the innkeeper was dozing at the front desk. Yuri rushed up the stairs and towards his room. Karol was still asleep, spread out so that he was taking up the entirety of his bed. Yuri shifted through his bag and drew out a life bottle and a few gels. He snuck back to where he had left Repede, and breathed a sigh of relief as the life bottle woke up his injured friend.

Repede whined and rubbed his nose against Yuri’s hand. Yuri fed him the gels and rested against the alley wall as Repede slowly got up.

“Sorry you got hit.”

Repede barked and hit his nose against Yuri’s arm. All was forgiven.

“We got some information, at least. Those mages said they were dealing with mercenaries who worked for Barbos. That means that the Blood Alliance has their hands stuck in this whole mess. I guess we don’t know for sure if those blastia cores were stolen, but I doubt Ruin’s Gate would be trading legitimate cores in the dead of night like this.” Yuri ran a hand through his hair.

Yuri made no move to get up from the ground, and so Repede curled up next to him. He absentmindedly petted Repede, and he stared at the red brick wall across from him. If this illegal blastia trade was tied to two Master Guilds, Yuri wondered if he was a bit in over his head. He would do what he had to, but he was only one man. He couldn’t possibly face off against two behemoths.

From a practical standpoint, Raven was probably his best bet to figuring this out. The thought of meeting up with Raven sent his heart pounding. He noticed with some annoyance that most of his anger toward the man was gone. Yuri rested his head against the wall. What had Raven done, really? He had lied, but mostly by omission. He’d helped Yuri, and Karol, and he’d pushed Dilan off of a balcony when he thought Yuri wasn’t going to do it. He’d let Yuri kill Ragou. He’d given Yuri the documents in Zaphias. So far, Raven hadn’t done anything to mark him as anything but Yuri’s ally.

_I’ll go meet him._ Yuri thought as his stomach lurched. _I’ll hear what he has to say and work with him until this smuggling ring is destroyed._

And if he felt relieved and happy at the thought of seeing that old bastard again, well no one besides Yuri had to know.  

~13~

“Yuri?”

A hand landed on Yuri’s shoulder, and he cracked open his sleep ridden eyes to find Karol perched at his bedside. Karol crossed his arms over his chest, and his mouth was set into a sharp frown.

“I saw you come in last night.”

Yuri groggily recalled slipping back into their room after staying out in the alley for most of the night. He hadn’t wanted to leave Repede after he got hurt. He had been certain Karol was out like a light when he’d come back in.

“You tell me you think I can hold my own, and then you go off without me! Do you—“

“Karol,” Yuri mumbled, his eyes still half closed.

“—think that I’d get in your way—“

“Karol.”

“—or that I’d just mess everything up—“

“Karol!”

Yuri sat up, and Karol’s rambling ground to a halt. At the stricken look on Karol’s face, Yuri immediately regretted raising his voice.

“I left without you because I still don’t want to get you involved. I did something illegal and dangerous last night, and Repede got hurt because of it. I don’t want to put you in more danger than I already have.” Yuri glanced at the clock on the wall and groaned. “It’s six in the morning! Couldn’t you have waited to yell at me?”

Karol turned to look at the clock and then looked back at Yuri, his mouth hanging open. “R-Repede got hurt?”

“He’s fine. I gave him a life bottle and stayed with him half the night, but he’s fine. It was my fault he got hit.” Yuri ran a hand over his face. “There’s no way I’m getting back to sleep now.”

Karol uncrossed his arms and started wringing his hands instead. “I’m sorry, it’s just—“

“It’s fine, Karol, I get it,” Yuri said as he got off of the bed. “You want me to take you seriously, but I don’t want to be the person that gets you killed.”

“I want to help you!” Karol’s nervousness retreated, and he stomped one of his feet against the carpet. “I can’t do that if you leave me behind all the time.”

Yuri sighed. “Fine, I’ll take you with me more often, but not every time. Like I said I’m not getting you killed. And you have to promise me that if things go wrong, you run like hell.”

Karol’s eyes rounded in surprise, and Yuri was reminded of when they first met. “But that’s what I always do, and I-I need to stop.”

“Not for this. For this I need you to stay alive and out of jail.”

“O-okay.” Karol fidgeted. “Are you sure Repede’s fine?”

Yuri gave Karol a small smile. “Yeah.”

“What did you do last night?” Karol asked.

Yuri thought about the mercenary with the gaping hole in his chest and the mage with the broken neck and found that he’d rather tell Karol anything else.

“There’s something I need to tell you first,” Yuri began. He half expected someone to barge into their room, but this time nothing interrupted him. “It’s about Raven.”

Karol’s eyebrows drew together in worry. “W-what about him? Is he okay?”

Yuri waited a beat for an alarm to sound in the city, or a dragon to burst into their inn room, but all was quiet. “He’s fine, as far as I know. While I went after the Captain running the city, I ran into the First Captain of the knights, Schwann. You ever hear of him?”

Karol’s worry was replaced by confusion. “Not really. I don’t know a lot about the empire. What does this have to do with Raven?”

“Turns out that the First Captain and Raven are the same person.”

“W-what? But Raven is so—“ Karol waved his hands in the air.

“Yeah, I know. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. He’s one hell of actor.”

“So, h-he was lying to us this whole time?” Karol asked quietly. Yuri could see the pain in his eyes, and felt a twinge of regret for telling him.

“Not about everything,” Yuri found himself saying. “He told me he really was Raven, too. It’s like he’s living a double life. Spying for the Empire or the Guilds, or both.” Yuri didn’t know if he’d said that for Raven’s sake or Karol’s.

Karol nodded shakily. “Th-that sounds really dangerous. Yuri, have you told anyone else?”

Yuri was surprised Karol was more concerned with the apparent danger of Raven’s lifestyle than any lies the man had told them. “No, and I’m not planning on it.”

“That’s good. If we tell anyone, it would be really really bad.” Karol started wringing his hands again.

Yuri reached forward and set a hand on Karol’s shoulder. “For us or for Raven?”

“For all of us! But especially for me and you. I mean, the First Captain is really powerful, right? And Raven’s in Altosk, and he got us this hotel.” Karol looked around the room as if he expected something to jump out of the shadows at him.

“Karol.” Yuri squeezed his shoulder, and Karol looked back up at Yuri. “If Raven was going to hurt either of us, he already would have done it. I agree that we shouldn’t tell anyone, but he’s not going to send assassins after us just over what happened in Heliord.”

Karol nodded and stopped wringing his hands. “Do you think he actually l-liked us at all?” Karol bit his lip.

Yuri’s throat was suddenly dry. “Yeah, I think he did, and I think he still does.”

Karol gave Yuri a shaky smile. “Are we ever gonna see him again?”

Yuri let go of Karol’s shoulder and looked at the window illuminated by the rising sun. “I’m meeting him in two days.”

“Can I come with you? I-I think I want to talk to him.”

“Sure, just let me talk to him first. I still don’t know what he’s going to do, Karol.”

Karol looked down at their feet. “No one wonder you guys were so mad at each other.”

“Yeah, tell me about it.”

~13~

Karol kept Yuri busy for the next few days, showing him the sights around town. Though Yuri had been to Dahngrest before, Clay had never given them any time to sightsee. Yuri was unable to sneak off again, as Karol was watching him like a hawk. He wanted to investigate the Blood Alliance. Their inn was a few blocks from a member’s only tavern, but he didn’t want to drag Karol along if things were going to go as poorly as they did with Ruin’s Gate.

It was now the night that Raven had chosen, and Yuri, Karol, and Repede were walking through the city. Yuri had gotten directions from the innkeeper to find the bar. He was going to have Karol wait outside, though Karol wasn’t very happy with that. He had begrudgingly agreed, but Yuri was going to have Repede keep an eye on him.

The sign for the bar was of a blazing purple and blue comet. Yuri found the gaudy sign and run down building to be so irrevocably _Raven_ that he found himself smirking.

Inside, the bar was packed, and the air was so smoky that Yuri had to resist the urge to cough. No one noticed when Yuri walked in, and so he was able to observe from the doorway in peace. There were five tables on the far right of the inn where people were gambling with cards and dice. There was a man near the center of the room strumming on a guitar for the patrons’ entertainment, and there were bar maids rushing back and forth with empty glasses and new bottles. Yuri did his best to try and spot a purple jacket in the chaos, and he caught sight of it in one of the back corners. Yuri pushed his way through the crowd, his heart already beating erratically. He gripped his free hand in a fist and steeled himself.

Raven was sitting at a small table with a bottle of scotch next to him. He was back to how he usually looked, no trace of Captain Schwann on him. He held his glass in a white-knuckled grip, and Yuri was concerned he might shatter it. His eyes were staring forward but were unfocused. He didn’t even notice Yuri standing in front of the table.

_It’s now or never._ Yuri pulled out an unoccupied chair and sat down.

“Ya didn’t even ask.”

“I didn’t think I needed to at this point,” Yuri said quietly.

Raven set the glass he’d been strangling down onto the table. “Guess not. You and me are in fer the long haul, huh?”

Yuri didn’t say anything, and Raven finally raised his eyes to Yuri’s face. “I thought ya were gonna tear me a new one, kid. What happened ta, ‘You’re such a bastard!’”

Yuri took one steadying breath before asking, “Why haven’t you killed me yet?”

Raven’s eyebrows rose. “Well, that wasn’t the first thing I expected ya ta ask.” He picked up the glass with an unsteady grip and took a drink. “I haven’t killed ya because I like ya. It’s the same damn reason why I didn’t just let ya get yerself butchered in Heliord. Why I got Dilan ta throw that damn party in the first place.” He set the glass back down on the table with a loud smack.

Yuri’s mouth was dry. Raven was saying he ‘liked’ Yuri, but there was no way he’d risk so much for someone he just ‘liked.’ “I didn’t ask you to do any of that, old man.”

“No, ya didn’t. I did it all because _I_ wanted to.” Raven stood up from the table. “Come on, kid. I have some explaining ta do, and I can’t do it out in the open.”

Yuri hesitated a moment before standing up, as well. Raven led him through the din to a set of stairs. They climbed up and out of the haze-filled tavern into a narrow hallway. Grungy, unmarked doors lined it, and Yuri could hear muffled noises of laughter and moans leaking out from behind them. Raven unlocked and opened one of the doors to reveal a skeevy room.

“Couldn’t we have talked about this somewhere that wasn’t a love hotel?” Yuri asked once the door was firmly closed.

The seriousness that had covered Raven like a shroud lifted for a moment to reveal a lopsided grin. “What’s the problem? It’s not like any a the people around us are gonna try eavesdroppin’.”

A particularly loud moan rang out right when Raven finished speaking, and his grin grew larger until the crinkling around his eyes became pronounced.

Yuri forced himself to turn away from Raven, and focused instead on a large brown stain on the wall to his left. His stomach was churning, and he wondered if he should just leave while he was ahead. _I can swear to never tell another soul the truth about him, and he can agree to never tell anyone I killed Ragou, and we can go our separate ways._

Yuri opened his mouth to tell Raven his decision, but was interrupted as he heard Raven step closer to him. “Ya tell the kid what happened?”

“Yeah, I did.” Yuri glanced at Raven over his shoulder. “He told me he thought what you were doing was dangerous, and he’s scared of what you might do to either of us.”

Raven’s mouth fell into a grim line. “I’m not hurtin’ either of ya.  Two skinny kids are the least a my problems. Shouldn’t ya be worryin’ about that assassin that attacked ya in Heliord instead a me?”

“I’m not skinny,” Yuri grumbled. “What assassin are you talking about?”

“Don’t play coy with me, kid. I saw the body and knew it was a member a Leviathan’s Claw. After lookin’ over the register a the prison ya were held in, I doubt any a the other prisoners would have such a high profile group after them.” He shook his head. “I didn’t mean for ya ta find out as much as ya did in Heliord, but I was plannin’ on havin’ this conversation with ya anyway.”

Yuri turned to face Raven, his interest piqued. “You were going to tell me you were Schwann?”

Raven snorted. “No. Ya only found out because I fucked up. I _was_ gonna warn ya against killing the people in power just ‘cause ya don’t like ‘em. I know I just seem like a damn hypocrite after pushin’ Dilan off that balcony, but if ya’d gone in and murdered him like ya did Ragou, ya woulda made even more enemies. I have protection, but yer just a loose cannon. Ya already got people sendin’ assassins after ya fer what we did in Zaphias.”

Yuri scowled. “That’s not going to stop me, and I didn’t kill Ragou because I didn’t like him. I told you, I killed him to stop him from abusing his power and the people of Nor.” Yuri stepped closer to Raven, any of his earlier unease forgotten in the face of his anger. “You threw Dilan off that balcony because he was going to murder that girl. You told me so yourself. You did exactly what I did, and what I’m going to continue to do regardless of what comes my way.”

“Are ya sure ya know what yer gettin’ inta?” Raven asked, before letting out a sigh. “Do ya have any idea how politics work?”

“Of course I do!” Yuri snarled.

“Then ya should know that no one stands alone, not if they wanna survive. They have allies. If ya go around offin’ every bad guy ya see, yer gonna make a lotta dangerous enemies. I fucked up when I pushed Dilan. That man was a powerful ally for the Commandant and I just—“ Raven cut off abruptly, and his eyes unfocused. “It was a risky move, and I’m lucky I made it out like an accident. You have no idea what’s going on behind the scenes.”

Yuri had been building up an angry rebuke, but at Raven’s sudden distress and lack of accent, Yuri found himself holding it back. The older man looked genuinely afraid, and Yuri found it disquieting. Even when Yuri had been threatening to shout Raven’s secret from the rooftops, he hadn’t looked the least bit scared. Now his unfocused eyes were filmed over with terror.

“Raven.” Yuri reached forward and put his free hand onto Raven shoulder.

The moment Yuri’s hand touched Raven’s shoulder, his eyes refocused, and he moved backwards out of Yuri’s hold. The fear in his eyes was replaced by careful blankness.

“Sorry about that.” Raven shook his head, and the blankness was replaced by a calm that Yuri could now tell was forced. “Do ya get it, now? Ya need ta be careful. Ya don’t have anyone watchin’ yer back, and just ‘cause I’m not gonna kill ya doesn’t mean that the countless other players in this game are gonna be so merciful.”

“Like I said earlier, I’m not letting that stop me.”

Raven closed his eyes.

“If I’m the only thing standing between the abusers and their victims, then I’ll take on anything to try and fix things. I promise you that I can handle it.” Yuri bridged the space between them. Even as his nervousness returned, he said, “You don’t have to get so worked up over me, old man.”

Raven opened his eyes and looked up into Yuri’s. “It’s kinda hard not to.”

Yuri’s heart was pounding, and he was hit with the desire to kiss the sorrowful expression off of Raven’s face. Instead he said, “I’m not going to die. I want to help people, and I can’t do that if I’m dead.” Yuri took a measured step backwards before he did something foolish. “You don’t have to worry about me.”

Raven looked away. “There really is no stopping ya, is there?”

“No, there isn’t.”

“Well, don’t say I didn’t warn ya.” Raven still refused to look at Yuri. “So, ya told the kid, but ya haven’t told anyone else?”

Yuri crossed his arms over his chest. “Your secret’s safe with me.”

“I’m sorry ya had ta find out the way ya did. I didn’t mean ta hurt ya.” Raven rubbed the back of the neck. “I won’t go runnin’ my mouth about ya to anyone either.”

“Good,” Yuri replied. The intensity from a moment ago had faded, and Yuri was left feeling awkward. He uncrossed his arms shifted his weight as silence stretched.  

Raven looked back at Yuri, now wearing a familiar grin that Yuri could recognize as fake. “As much as I’d like to spend the resta the night with you in this shady room, I still gotta figure out where all those stolen blastia are goin’. If yer interested in workin’ with me ta find out, then meet me outside this bar tomorra night. Maybe after we’re done diggin’ around we can go back ta my place.” He wiggled his eyebrows once, before turning around and heading for the door.

Yuri knew that every word Raven had just said had been forced and fake, and he knew that he absolutely couldn’t let Raven leave with those as the last words between them.

“Wait.”

Raven stopped, his hand resting on the doorknob.

Yuri was at a loss at what to actually say, so he said the first thing that came to mind. “Karol’s waiting outside the bar. If you leave now, he’ll want to talk to you. I think you should.” Yuri paused. “He cares a lot about you.”

“Does he now?” Raven asked as he peered over his shoulder at Yuri.

“Yeah,” Yuri’s throat was dry, and he knew that Raven wasn’t asking about Karol. “He does.”

Raven dropped his hand from the doorknob, and he smiled at Yuri. It wasn’t anything like the mask he’d warn a moment ago, and it sent Yuri’s heart racing.

“Never woulda guessed,” Raven replied before looking away and opening the door.  

Yuri opened his mouth to try and backtrack, but Raven was gone.


	16. Fourteen: Barbos

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the kudos, bookmarks, and even a comment!  
> Congratulations to my beta, StardustAndAsh, for graduating college! How exciting!

Dahngrest was at its most impressive when bathed in the light of the setting sun. Lights were just beginning to wink into existence along the skyline, and the barrier became more pronounced as the sky slowly darkened into a navy blue. The city glowed orange under the last rays of sunlight. Yuri was sure he’d never seen anything so calming. The roof of the inn wasn’t the tallest around, but it was close enough to the edge of the city that Yuri had a view that stretched all along the riverbank.

He could hear laughter from the street below, and he glanced down to see a group of children playing a game in the street, running together in a pattern only they could understand. Repede was resting on the street nearby the group, but he paid them little mind. A few local dogs were lying around him, and Repede appeared content as his tail wagged lazily.

A door opened across the street and a warrior with a battle axe strapped to his back stepped out. Yuri’s eyes were drawn to the mess of blond spikes on the man’s head, and immediately thought of Flynn. He had left Flynn behind in Capua Nor to deal with assassins and a murdered Governor. Yuri knew that Flynn could take care of himself, but he still regretted not being able to stand by him. He didn’t know if fleeing right away had been the best idea. He hadn’t wanted to be arrested, but at the same time, Yuri feared that Flynn might connect the dots. He had to admit that Ragou’s death occurring at the same time that he had skipped town was incriminating. A burst of guilt filled Yuri’s heart when he found himself hoping that Flynn’s belief in him would keep his friend from realizing what he’d done.

“Yuri!” Karol was waving up at Yuri from the street, and Yuri belatedly realized he’d been staring at the empty doorway for a long time. “I’m going out!”

Karol ran down the street before Yuri could respond, his new, green bag standing out as he ran off into the crowded main street.

Last night Karol had returned late. He had excitedly told Yuri that Raven had offered him some work, and that if Karol did a good job, Raven would see about getting him into Altosk. Karol had been breathless with the thought. He then went on a long rant about how he planned on personally impressing Don Whitehorse. Yuri had been relieved to see that in the face of this new task, Karol had momentarily forgotten about his drive to help Yuri out.

Though Yuri was glad Karol and Raven were still on good terms, he also saw what Raven was trying to do. By giving Karol something to do, the boy wasn’t involved in what both of them were investigating. In the long term, if Karol was in Altosk, it would be laughably easy for Raven to keep an eye on him.

By now even Karol’s bag had disappeared from view. Night had descended onto the city. The blastia that powered the inn’s sign whirred to life nearly in tandem with the other signs on the block, and the sound of children’s laughter had died down. Yuri slowly got up from where he’d been sitting on the roof. He needed to leave now if he wanted to meet Raven.

Yuri knew that Karol wasn’t the only one Raven was leading along, yet he found that he didn’t mind cooperating. Maybe the reason Raven was so unconcerned about them knowing his secret was because he knew how much sway he had over the both of them.

A bark alerted Yuri to the fact that he was standing outside of the inn, and he focused to find Repede getting up. The group of dogs Repede had adopted made no move to follow him. One whined at the sight of him getting ready to leave.

“Repede, can you find Karol?”

Repede barked again and walked over to Yuri’s side.

“I need to you look after him tonight.” Repede growled and butted his head against Yuri’s leg. “I know you’ve been on babysitting duty a lot lately, but I can’t be in two places at once. Who knows what kind of trouble he’ll get into?”

Repede whined and shook himself before walking in the direction Karol had sped off in. Yuri didn’t think Raven would send Karol to do anything too dangerous, but if the incident with those three goons was any indication, Karol had a lot of enemies in the city.

The streets blurred together and before long Yuri was standing in front of the Comet. No one was outside of it. The muffled noise pouring out of the building made it obvious the bar was as packed as it had been the night before. Yuri leaned against the wall below the gaudy comet shaped sign and waited. His mind wandered, worrying again about Flynn. A growing anxiety about his oldest friend finding out what he’d done was curling in his gut right as what sounded like a full band started playing inside of the bar. A sharp twang sounded against the wall of the building across the street. In one fluid motion Yuri drew his sword, his mind now completely focused on the present. A muscular man with a horned helmet swore as he stumbled from the alleyway.

“Damn you!” the man bellowed as he righted himself and swung his curved sword into the shadows of the alleyway.

His opponent flipped over him, and Yuri watched Raven’s coat flare out behind him as he landed. Raven knocked another arrow and drew his bow, releasing it just as the man turned around. The arrow sunk through the man’s eye almost to the fletching.

“Hey, kid,” Raven said blandly as he folded his bow and hid it back under his coat.

Yuri got out of his ready stance when it appeared that no one else was going to attack. “What the hell have you been doing?”

Raven shook his head before he grabbed Yuri’s arm and pulled him down the street. As they retreated, Yuri heard someone start screaming at the sight of the dead man slowly bleeding out onto the brickwork. They weaved through the city streets to the point where Yuri was hopelessly lost, though Raven appeared to know exactly where to go. The alleyway they stopped in was bare except for a low, wide window that had steel bars crisscrossing over it instead of glass.

“Who did you just kill?” Yuri asked as Raven leaned forward and panted. Yuri was vividly reminded of the night they’d first met.

“Some guy from the Blood Alliance. He figured out who my informer was an’ killed her before he showed up at our meeting place an’ tried ta do me in next. At least Erica managed ta get me some good intel before she got found out.” Raven sighed before he went to kneel down in front of the window. There was an intimidating lock keeping the metal panes in place. “Turns out the Blood Alliance has been working with Ruin’s Gate ta funnel the blastia through the city. Still not sure where the hell they’re taking it from here, though.”

“I found a blastia core trade gone wrong in the basement of the Ruin’s Gate HQ,” Yuri admitted, “One the people involved was a mercenary from the Blood Alliance.”

Raven looked up at Yuri. “You were the one who killed those people?”

“I didn’t kill the mercenary; he was already dead when I got there.”

Raven lifted up the right side of his coat and started digging around in his pockets. “That was risky, ya know. I suppose I don’t have a right ta lecture ya, since I just shot a guy in the middle a the street.

“Is this place the tip off Erica gave you?” Yuri changed the subject as he pulled Clay’s lock picks from his back pocket and held the set out to Raven.

Raven stopped digging through his jacket and took the set from Yuri. “Coulda sworn I brought some with me,” he muttered. “Yeah, this buildin’ has a secret passage that leads ta one a the underground locations where Ruin’s Gate is inspectin’ stolen blastia. Or at least it’s supposed ta be.”

Yuri stared at the stained brickwork of the wall, and in no time at all, Raven was handing back the lock picks with a grin that flashed white in the dark. The sliding metal panes were opened with a quiet rattle, and Raven hopped into the room. Yuri climbed in after him.

The room was stacked with crates and was lined with a thick layer of dust. Yuri could see some footprints in the dirt on the floor, but even those looked a few days old.

“Those have all got blastia in ‘em. None of ‘em are stolen, though. I sent some guys ta these hideouts a week ago an’ all these crates checked out. Now, we just gotta find that passage. I hope yer up fer some heavy liftin’,” Raven grabbed two lanterns that had been sitting on a crate in the center and lit them with matches that he pulled from his coat.

“Now I know the real reason you brought me along,” Yuri drawled.

“If I just wanted some muscle I coulda dragged along one a the Altosk goons. I brought ya so I’d have somethin’ pretty ta look at.” Raven winked. “I’ll look over here.”

Raven started shifting through the crates in the left corner of the small room. Yuri turned to the other corner and started lifting crates. He could hear a slight clinking every time one of the boxes was moved. The two of them worked steadily for a while, and Yuri was starting to work up a sweat. He had been about ready to sit down and take a breather when he spotted a section of the stonework that didn’t match the rest.

Yuri lifted the last crate away from it. He pushed on the wall but found that it was as sturdy as the rest of the building. “I think I might have found something.”

Raven appeared next to him, and Yuri was surprised to see he’d taken off his oversized coat. He looked a lot smaller without it. “That’s it.”

“How do we get it open?” Yuri asked.

“There’s gotta be a switch around here somewhere.” Raven comically turned his head back and forth.

“We have to go digging around more?” Yuri thought he might actually be a little sore in the morning.

“I already found it. I just didn’t want ta go an’ press it without knowin’ what it’d open.”

“You could have told me earlier.”

“Ya did fine without knowin’.” Raven walked over to the corner he’d been digging through and pushed on a stone that was sticking out slightly from the wall. The passage’s door slowly began to shift right.

Yuri jumped down into the dark passage. When he landed, he heard a high pitched “Eep!”

A man wearing brown and red robes was sitting at a round wooden table. In the table’s center sat a dark stone that didn’t look like any blastia core Yuri had ever seen. There were lanterns lit all over the confined space, and their light glinted off of blastia cores of all different sizes. Diagrams and formulas filled the wall space not covered by shelves. The man stood up from the table, a look of abject fear on his face. Yuri slowly drew his sword, and the man took a step back, only to collide with a shelf behind him. The blastia cores rattled and shifted, and one even toppled to the ground, shattering on impact.

Raven jumped down into the passage. He was back to wearing his coat, and he had drawn his dagger. “Ya got nowhere ta run.”

“Wh-who are you?” The man was shaking, and his eyes shifted between looking at Yuri to Raven rapidly. “I-I thought I had filled my qu-quota already?”

“We’re here ta put a stop ta this. Ya tattle on all the other’s in Ruin’s Gate who’re workin’ with ya, and I’ll made sure ya get off easy compared ta them.” Raven was slowly stepping toward the man like he would a wounded animal. Yuri noted that Raven had purposefully left out the Blood Alliance from his explanation.

 “N-no! You don’t understand! This isn’t Ruin’s Gate. It hasn’t b-been Ruin’s Gate for months!”

“I think he might be hysterical, old man,” Yuri followed along.

“No!” The man held out his hands in front of him, and ice crystals started to appear in the air around them. Raven abruptly stopped. “B-barbos and his B-blood Alliance! They k-killed our Boss! Replaced him with an im-imposter. B-barbos threatened us! He th-threatened me! Said he would kill M-Maria and my girls if, if I didn’t do what he said! P-please! If he finds out you’ve been here, he’ll kill them!” The room’s temperature dropped drastically as the man spoke. 

Raven gave Yuri a significant look before he sheathed his dagger and held out his hands in a placating gesture. “We can get yer family somewhere safe. Now come on, we don’t wanna hurt ya.”

Yuri sheathed his sword, and the man let his hands drop, the temperature already beginning to climb back to normal. The man was shaking like a leaf and didn’t make any move to resist as Raven grabbed ahold of his arm. Yuri saw Raven swipe the strange stone off of the table with his other hand.

“What’s yer name, then?” Raven asked as he slipped the stone away into his jacket.

“M-my name is William, and thank you,” the man said, clearly unware that Raven had taken anything, “I thought I would be under h-his control for the rest of m-my life.”

Raven nodded. “Yuri, I’m gonna take him ta an Altosk base--”

“Y-you’re with Altosk?” The man’s fear quickly faded, and pure relief crossed over his features. “Then you need to know that Barbos is going to leave the city tonight! I overheard some of the mercenaries talking about it when they came by today. Please, you need to stop him!”

“Damn,” Raven swore. “Change of plans, I’m gonna take him ta see the Don. Ya mind doin’ me a favor? Barbos’ place is good five blocks west a here. It’s a four story mansion, ya can’t miss it. Scout the place out an’ if ya see him tryin’ ta leave, make a distraction.”

Yuri put his hand on his hip, but before he could say anything, Raven said, “Ya wanna catch the mastermind behind this or not?”

“Fine, old man. I’ll buy you some time.”

William had already climbed up the ladder leading out of the passage and Raven was following behind.

“Just be careful about it. Barbos is a nasty bastard, so don’t go spacin’ out,” he said as he climbed.

“You worry too much,” Yuri scoffed, even has he felt mortified that Raven had noticed how spacey he’d been tonight.

“We won’t be long, Yuri.” Raven motioned to William to follow him as he made for the door. “William, ya just need ta tell the Don what ya told me. We should be able ta move on Barbos tonight. Everyone else in Ruin’s Gate should be free by tomorra mornin’.”

William went off on a long winded speech of gratitude as Raven guided him down the alleyway. Yuri felt less dread than earlier as he watched them go. He was going to help stop the smuggling ring on the Union’s end, somewhere Flynn couldn’t reach.

He turned to the west and noticed a towering corner estate not far away. The building matched the rest of the city’s red brick but was surrounded by a wrought iron fence that reminded Yuri of the Noble Quarter in Zaphias. He slowly approached the house. He could make out two mercenaries standing guard outside of the main gate. He calmly walked down the street past the two of them and felt the intensity of their stares. He wouldn’t be getting in quietly that way.

The house was a corner estate, and so Yuri was able to easily cut around to the back. There was a thin alley leading behind the houses on the block. Through the fence, he couldn’t see anyone patrolling around the perimeter of the house. It looked like the only outside guards were the ones posted at the gate. The property was big, but it was half the size of most of the mansions Yuri had seen at Zaphias. Yuri could only see one window that was lit up. He assumed that must be where Barbos was. If not, then maybe it was someone who could shed light on where Barbos had fled.

With a quick throw, his sword arced over the fence and landed with a soft thud on the grass. He scaled up the side of it, making sure not to bump against any of the sharp edges. He pulled himself up and perched on the top of the fence. His feet were balanced on the thin metal bar between the wicked spikes that covered the top.

He hopped down onto the grass with a soft plop and grimaced as his feet sunk into the muddy lawn. He had to shake off his sword to remove some of the grime from the sheath. As he snuck across the lawn, Yuri wondered if he had missed Barbos, after all. There wasn’t any of the fuss expected when someone was scrambling to leave town. The estate was calm and quiet. When he got to the back door he immediately began trying to pick the lock. Yuri unlocked it in a couple of minutes, and the door opened with a soft creak. He snuck through the house with his eyes and ears open, but no one was around. Sheets covered what little furniture the house contained, and a thick layer of dust rested over everything. Yuri thought it was a little suspicious. He wondered if William had given them bad information. It looked like Barbos had cleared out of town months ago.

The sound of a man humming a happy tune filled the quiet of the house, and Yuri froze when he heard footsteps on the stairs. He made to dive into a darkened room to his right, but the hair on the back of his neck stood up. He dodged in the opposite direction, and was blown back when a burst of energy caused part of the doorway to explode into splinters.

He turned to face his attacker, his sword drawn and ready. A burly man with greying hair stood in the middle of the stairs. He held a sword that was almost as long as he was in one hand, while the other was nothing more than a golden tipped stub. He was smiling at Yuri with a wide, manic grin.

“Well, if it isn’t a rat!” he bellowed as he swung his sword to begin another arte.

Yuri dodged the blast of energy and vaulted off the wall of the staircase. In the quick instant that he was in the air above his opponent, he moved his sword to take a swipe at the man’s neck

With a deranged cackle, the man blocked Yuri’s sword with his stump, and sparks flew from the clash of metal. As Yuri fell down towards the stairs, the man reached out and grabbed his neck. Yuri struggled as his air supply was cut off.

“I want to know why some skinny kid thinks he can walk into my house,” he threw Yuri down the stairs, “and steal from me!”

Yuri threw his sword away as he fell, lest he land on it and impale himself. He landed on his left shoulder. It throbbed, but he had no time to try and eat a gel.  He scurried to his feet and had to dodge another swing that would have decapitated him. He needed a weapon. Yuri couldn’t see his sword anywhere. A rusty set of fire pokers sat in a brass vase by the fireplace. He grabbed one as he danced out of the way of another arte, and the man burst out laughing.

“You’re making me wonder if I _should_ kill you. You didn’t come here to get a job offer, did you? It takes a lot of guts to try and kill a guy like me.”

Yuri belatedly realized that the hulking man before him was Barbos. He felt fury pulse through him as he dodged another swing aimed at his head. It was clear that Barbos was only toying with him.

Barbos sent a barrage of energy Yuri’s way, and he weaved through it to reach where Barbos stood at the bottom of the stairs. He crouched down and charged energy into the poker using his Bodhi blastia. It jabbed into Barbos’ gut, and Yuri felt a smirk appear on his lips at the sight of first blood.

“You little shit!” Barbos snarled, and Yuri knew that the man was done playing with him.

Yuri sprung back into a standing position and watched in surprise as Barbos stuck his sword into the ground and reached forward. Yuri took a step back, but all his attention was focused on Barbos’ incoming hand. He didn’t see the golden tipped stump heading right for his head until it was too late. His world spun, and his neck was grabbed again. He heard a crash and shouting behind him, but he could barely focus on it since he couldn’t breathe. In the next moment he was sailing through the air, and he heard the sound of glass breaking.

He rolled over in the muddy grass, groaning. He could feel cuts all over his body from crashing through the window. He was still clutching the rusty poker in a death grip, and he was lucky he hadn’t landed on it.

A high pitched laugh that didn’t belong to Barbos cut into his throbbing head.

“What’s this? Someone who’s looking to feed my precious blade tonight?”

Yuri sensed more than saw the incoming knife and did his best to roll away and into a crouch. He was still nicked by it on his right arm, and the wound burned far more than it should have. The blade had been poisoned. Yuri realized then with a strange resignation that he was probably going to die.

A man who could only be described as insane was leering at Yuri. His hair was three different colors, and he was listing to the side as if he was drunk. Yuri barely noticed that Barbos and the two mercenaries that had been guarding the gate had stepped through the broken window and into the yard.  

The insane man charged at Yuri, and he did his best to stagger to his feet. He righted the poker and got into a fighting stance. He would not die on his knees.

Not one, but five arrows hit the insane man mid charge. He stumbled and fell with a pained shout. Yelling started up at that moment. Men and women in armor were pouring into the yard by the dozen. The two mercenaries were occupied, and Barbos was doing his best to fend off the reinforcements despite his bleeding gut. Yuri felt like he was watching these events unfold from somewhere far away. All of the sounds around him were muffled.

Yuri felt a hand fall onto his right shoulder. In a moment, he was back at full throttle. He swung at his assailant, only to have his attack blocked by a firm hand. He had forgotten he was holding a rusty fire poker and not his black and red blade. He let the poker get pulled away from him when he met familiar eyes that burned in an unfamiliar way. Yuri didn’t think he’d ever seen Raven look so angry.

“Hey, old man.” Yuri managed a shaky smile. “I think I might be poisoned,” he heard himself say before the world starting spinning.

The next thing he knew, he was lying in someone’s arms and looking up as a dragon flew overhead. He heard a raging cry and screams before he knew no more.


	17. Fifteen: World Killer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your comments, bookmarks, and kudos!  
> Big thanks to my beta, StardustAndAsh!

Someone was crying. It was a soft sniffling sound at the edge of Yuri’s consciousness.  He was bone tired and told himself to ignore it and dive back into sleep. Unfortunately, his eyes didn’t listen and they opened to a blurry world. He blinked slowly before finally focusing on a white ceiling. He was lying on a hard bed and surrounded by scratchy blankets. He vaguely noted that he wasn’t wearing any clothes. Turning his head toward the noise felt like the hardest thing he had ever done.

Karol was sitting in a small and uncomfortable looking chair and crying. He had scrunched himself up into a ball with his feet pulled up onto the chair. Yuri distantly felt a pang of guilt run through his chest at the sight.

If he had been stronger, and if he had been smarter, this wouldn’t have happened.

It took Yuri a couple of moments before he got his mouth working. Even then, his voice was only a whisper, “Hey, Captain.”

Karol face flew up from where it had been hiding behind his knees. His eyes were red and his face tear streaked, but now his sadness had been completely replaced by surprise. His mouth was gaping open at Yuri as if Karol thought he was dreaming.

“Y-yuri? You’re awake?” Karol got off the chair and was at Yuri’s bedside in an instant. “You’re awake!”

“It is that amazing?” Yuri mumbled.

“You were poisoned! I thought you were going to die!” Karol was actually angry. Yuri was amused at this, though his sluggish brain couldn’t pin down why. “Why didn’t you tell me you were going to attack Barbos? I could have gone with you and helped! Repede is really mad at you, too!”

“Wasn’t planning on attacking anyone. Barbos just showed up and started swinging at me,” Yuri slurred. “Didn’t Raven give you a job to do?”

“That’s not important! That job could have waited another day if it meant I could keep you from getting poisoned!” Karol threw his arms in the air. “I can’t believe Raven let you go off on your own!”

“Old man told me to be careful. It’s not his fault,” the words slipped out of Yuri’s mouth before he could stop them. He felt like he was floating, even though he was definitely lying on a bed. “Where are we?”

“A healer’s house. Raven brought you here. He told me that you said you were poisoned before you passed out.” Karol had his fists clenched at his sides, but at least he had stopped lecturing Yuri. “There was total chaos at Barbos’ mansion! Leviathan’s Claw was there and a dragon showed up! Raven pulled you out of the fight and dragged you here as fast as he could, even though the Don got mad at him for it.”

It looked like Yuri was starting to stack up life debts. At this rate, by the end of the year he would owe everyone he knew. Maybe he _was_ a little too reckless.

“Y-yuri,” Karol’s voice morphed into whisper, “you can’t do this again. I-I don’t know what I’d do if you d-died.”

Yuri vaguely wondered if Karol had taken a course about how to guilt trip people. “I promise I won’t, Captain.”

Yuri expected Karol to smile at him, but instead his frown only deepened. “You told me not to make promises I couldn’t keep.”

_When had Karol gotten so smart?_ “What do you want me to say?”

“Next time, take someone with you before you go rushing off into something. You already said you’d let me help you!”

“Feel like if I brought you,” Yuri was running on empty, and he could feel his eyelids drooping, “then you’d be the one lying here.”

“Yuri?” Karol’s voice sounded very far away.

Yuri tried to tell Karol that he was just going back to sleep, but his mouth wouldn’t move. His eyes closed.

~15~

Yuri awoke with a start and sat up. He was breathing heavy and he was covered in a layer of cold sweat. The window was open; a cold night breeze was causing the white curtains to billow. The room was dark except for the soft glow coming in from the window. Yuri felt eyes on him, and he turned his head to face the other side of the room.

Raven was sitting on the same chair Karol had been curled in earlier. He was staring right at Yuri, his chin cradled in one of his hands.

Yuri realized that he was still naked under the blankets, which had pooled around his waist when he sat up. He felt exposed and almost tried to pull the blankets up around himself before stopping. He wasn’t a blushing teenage virgin and didn’t give a damn what Raven saw.

“What are you doing here, old man?” Yuri’s throat was dry and scratchy, but he felt much better than when he’d spoken with Karol.

“Ya got a death wish?” Raven’s voice was cold.

Yuri wished he had his sword. “What?”

“With the way ya were actin’ I thought ya might be suicidal.”

“Karol already gave me a lecture,” Yuri grumbled. “I didn’t go charging in there looking for trouble. Barbos just showed up out of nowhere and starting trying to cut off my head.”

Raven wasn’t here to hurt him. Yuri forced the tension to drain from his shoulders. A snide voice in the back of his head pointed out how ridiculous it would be for Raven to hurt him after dragging him to a healer in the first place. He was just paranoid because of bad dreams.

“I ain’t here ta lecture ya. I just gotta make sure yer not gonna jump off a buildin’ or somethin’.”

“I’m not,” Yuri replied sharply, “but if I was, wouldn’t you be happy? You wouldn’t have to worry about me telling anyone the truth about you if I was dead.”

The cold expression on Raven’s face shifted, and Raven covered his eyes with his hand. “Even after all this, ya still think the worst a me?” He pushed his hand back so that it ruffled through his bangs and let out a humorless laugh. “Yer right, though. My life woulda been a lot easier if I’d just let ya die on that lawn.”

“But you didn’t,” Yuri said quietly, feeling guilty for his harsh words.

“But I didn’t.” Raven slowly stood up from the chair and walked over to Yuri’s bedside. Yuri felt the urge to cover himself again but quickly shoved it down. “It’s my fault ya were in danger like that in the first place. Karol gave me a lecture too, ya know. Kid’s got a lota heart.”

“Guess I owe you one.”

Raven shrugged nonchalantly, though his expression was still dead serious. “Ya almost died doin’ a favor fer me, so as far as I’m concerned, we’re even.”

He set a white cloth down onto the bed next to Yuri. It had strange black writing on it that Yuri had never seen before.

“Barbos was killed before we could arrest him. That dragon rider that blew up the blastia in Nor swooped in an’ ran him through with a black lance. It had this tied ta the end.”

“What does it say?”

“It’s a Krityan word that means ‘world killer’.”

Yuri pulled his eyes from the cloth and looked up at Raven. The older man wasn’t looking at Yuri. He was staring out the window, his mind a thousand miles away. The realization that Judith had killed Barbos was a detached one. Yuri found that he was simply curious to find out what Duke and she were up to.

“Remember my lecture about politics and how ya gotta be careful? At that time I suspected a whole guild a bein’ corrupted, and that was somethin’ I could handle. But this is a whole lot more than I coulda imagined. A war was fought over this word.” Raven shifted his eyes back to Yuri’s face, and there was a haunted look in them.

“I don’t understand. I thought the Krityans were peaceful.”

“That’s what I thought, but this proves otherwise. I’m gonna find out what this is all about, and it’ll probably be real damn risky. Would ya mind if I drag ya along with me?”

Yuri was taken aback by Raven’s question, before he burst out laughing. “I know who the dragon rider is. I was just thinking of trying to find her again and see what the hell she thinks she’s doing.”

Raven comically gaped at him, and Yuri found himself happy to see that haunted look fade away. Even if he suspected that Raven hardly felt any better.  “That lunatic is a _lady_?”

“A Krityan lady, supposedly,” Yuri said as he put his hand over the jagged edge of the cloth.

“And you met her?”

“It was by chance. Like how we first met.”

Raven shook his head in exasperation. “Knowin’ ya, it won’t be too long before ya run inta her again.”

“If you’re going to be sticking your nose into this, I might as well hang around for a while. Judith likes me, so she’ll probably try and kill me first. That way, you can make a clean getaway,” Yuri drawled.

“Ya know me so well.” Raven smiled, and it was one of those small, genuine ones that sent Yuri’s heart racing. The smile shifted into a more mischievous one. “There’s another reason I’m here.”

“Oh?”

“I got word about somethin’ I thought ya’d like ta know. Now, if I was a responsible adult, I’d wouldn’t tell ya and let ya recover in peace, but I know ya’d never forgive me if I let ya miss this chance.”

Yuri leaned back against the headboard of the bed and crossed his arms.

“Ya see, a little birdy told me that a knight Captain by the name of Warren Agrioli got in a lotta trouble. He got demoted and even has some prison time in his future. Unfortunately, he’s got friends in high places, and he managed ta slip outta Zaphias.”

“Shit,” Yuri swore as his good mood evaporated.

Raven put his hand on the bed, and Yuri’s anger hit a brick wall when he realized how close it was to his leg. “Let me finish before ya start flippin’ out. Tomorra night, he’ll be walking inta Dahngrest through the East entrance, and the guards that usually watch the bridge are gonna be _otherwise occupied_.”

“I see,” Yuri said as his mind raced. He felt pretty good. He was sure he could be up and about by tomorrow.

He felt pressure on his leg, right above his knee. Raven had moved his hand off the bed. Yuri’s eyes flew to meet Raven’s, and they were full of concern. “If yer not up ta it, I can arrange somethin’. Just wanted ta let ya know that bastard was gonna be around.”

“What are you talking about? I’m fine.” Yuri’s mind was running on autopilot as he focused on the steady pressure on his leg.

Raven raised his eyebrows so that they disappeared behind his bangs. “Ya were out cold for eight days, ya know. The kid said ya woke up fer a few minutes yesterday, but I don’t know if ya should be gettin’ revenge on anyone right now.”

“I feel great. I’ll be able to handle it. You need to stop worrying so much, old man.” Without a thought, Yuri uncrossed his arms and put his hand over Raven’s.

A look of genuine surprise crossed Raven’s face before he started smiling one of those sincere smiles. Yuri suddenly found it impossible to meet Raven’s eyes and looked out the window.

“Alright then,” Raven said softly. “I’ll take care a the gritty details. Ya just rest up here and head out when I get yer stuff ta ya.”

Raven squeezed Yuri’s leg before he pulled his hand away and stood up. He walked over to the window, and the breeze from outside ruffled his hair.

“It’ll be good fer ya ta get the guy that tried ta kill ya and that friend a yers.”

Yuri pushed the heady feeling in his chest aside at Raven’s words. “I never told you about Flynn.”

Raven turned away from the window and put his hand on his chin. The sincerity he’d shown moments earlier was gone. “I guess ya didn’t. It wasn’t too hard ta make the connection, though. Yer not mad, are ya?”

“That’s how you knew where my inn room was, back in Zaphias,” Yuri said instead of answering. He felt a small jolt of fear that Raven would tell Flynn what he’d been doing, but he quickly quashed it down. Raven had no reason to tell Flynn anything.

“Yeah. Yer name was Yuri and yer were pokin’ around in the same thing Captain Andrey was havin’ his men investigate. It didn’t take much ta find out who yer were and that ya used ta be in his brigade. I thought ya were workin’ fer him, until ya told me ya were just tryin’ ta help people.” Raven winked. “Now, why don’t ya get some more rest? I’ll get yer clothes up here so ya don’t have to stab Agrioli in the nude.”

Raven climbed up onto the windowsill. Before he disappeared over the edge, he gave Yuri a mocking salute. Yuri was left staring at the empty window, trying to fight off a blush.

~15~

Yuri woke up the next morning to his stomach growling. He felt like he hadn't eaten in a week. A slight tremor of anxiety was still running through him from half remembered nightmares. The window of his room had been closed, and a small pile of plain blue clothes sat on the end table by his bed.

“You’re awake. Good. I’ll have some breakfast sent up for you.”

A woman with blonde hair and skin a few shades darker than Raven’s stood by the edge of Yuri’s bed. She was holding a clipboard and scribbling on it while a scowl marred her face. A translucent, magical screen floated in front of her. Even though Yuri was looking at it from the wrong way, he could tell it was reading off information about his physical condition. It was strange seeing the pulsing line that was meant to simulate his heartbeat.

“You’re lucky to be alive, you know.” The screen disappeared with a casual wave of the woman’s hand. “We had you put into a healing sleep. You’re vitals are looking much better now, and I imagine you’ll be fully recovered with a few more days of bed rest.”

“You put me into a comma for eight days?” Yuri sat up. Raven had mentioned it the night before, but he hadn’t said it was magically induced.  

“You’re a warrior, right?”

_Was she trying to change the subject?_ “Yeah, why?”

“If we hadn’t put you into that sleep, you would have spent another month recovering. Would you have rather have been unable to move for a couple more weeks?”

Yuri still didn’t like the idea of a magically induced coma. “I feel great. Why can’t I leave now?”

The woman huffed. “Your condition could still relapse. The poison attacked your nervous system. If you feel numb anywhere, don’t hesitant to tell start yelling. You’re lucky that Altosk member dragged you here when he did. A couple more minutes without an antidote, and you might have been permanently paralyzed.”

Yuri balked at that. The seriousness of what had happened to him was starting to finally sink in. He had to make sure he didn’t rush into another death trap. Agrioli would be arriving tonight, though. He had to take care of him, no matter what.

The woman gave Yuri a deadpan look. “Do you still think it would be ridiculous to stay for a couple more days?”

“I promise I won’t try and escape.” Yuri smirked at her.

She sighed, clearly unconvinced. “My name is Healer Greenwich. I’m responsible for you during the day, and my partner, Healer Novak, will be responsible for you during the night. He’s much larger and more muscular than I am, so keep that in mind before you wander where you shouldn’t.”

“What is this, a prison?”

Greenwich smiled at him. “I really can’t tell the difference sometimes.” She put her hand on the top of the pile of blue clothes. “These are for you. The clothes you were wearing when you arrived here will be returned to you when you leave.”

“Do you have something against black?”

She had turned to the leave the room, but gave Yuri a wry look over her shoulder. “Those clothes of yours _were_ quite morbid. You should try and expand your color horizons. Well, I’m off to go find that breakfast I promised you.” The healer left the room with a flourish, leaving Yuri alone.

After Yuri pulled on the blue clothes and ate something, he was visited by Karol. The boy was much calmer than he’d been the last time Yuri had seen him. He happily told Yuri about sneaking around in the tunnels under the city in order to complete the job Raven had given him.

“Raven said that I might be offered a position in Altosk soon!” He’d hardly been able to sit still at the thought.

Yuri almost told Karol about Warren Agrioli, but decided against it. Karol would freak out if Yuri told him he planned on sneaking out that night. Besides Karol might insist on helping him and Yuri didn’t want Karol to get mixed up in his assassinations.

Karol had been kicked out once evening fell, and Yuri was left to pick at his dinner in peace. Once the dishes had been cleared away, Yuri went to the window, impatiently waiting for Raven to deliver on his promises. Yuri noted that he was only on the second floor, so it wouldn't be hard to escape.

Time passed, and Yuri grew increasingly impatient. Night was quickly falling, and still Raven was nowhere to be seen. Yuri started to climb out the window, when he was greeted by the sight of a white bag sitting on the stone outcrop right below. A note was pinned to it with a small black arrow. Chicken scratch handwriting spelled out, _You can thank me later_ _._

Yuri smiled. "Thanks, old man," he said to the lone white sack.

He grabbed it and pulled it into the room before closing the window to shut out the cool air. The bag had his own clean clothes, bodhi blastia, and sword in it. Much to Yuri’s surprise, Clay’s scarf lay at the bottom of the bag. He stripped off his blue clothes and quickly got dressed. Once he had his sword in hand, he felt more like himself. He could do this.

Yuri opened the window again and climbed onto the sill. There was a set of metal ladders leading to the street in case of a fire that he could use. He smoothly grabbed onto the metal of the ladder and pulled himself over. It felt good to get moving again after so many days stuck in physical limbo.

The streets were almost void of activity. Most of the noise was coming from the entrance of the building, which was thankfully far from where Yuri had climbed down. He weaved his way to the East entrance, making sure to avoid the major drags. He didn’t want to risk anyone see him heading towards the area. He emerged from an alley and found himself standing right before the East entrance’s bridge. The guards were still there, along with a small line of travelers waiting to get in.

Raven had said that the guards would be occupied, but so far it looked like they weren’t going anywhere. Yuri scanned the small line, but Agrioli was nowhere to be seen. The night was still young, though. Yuri could wait. He shifted back into the shadows and leaned against the alley wall, his eyes set sharply on the bridge. Even if Raven didn’t come through, Yuri could still stalk Agrioli into the city and take care of him in a secluded location. In fact, it might work out better for him that way.

Time passed, and he was knocked out of his musings by the echoing sound of a large bell ringing in the distance. The line had dispersed, and the guards had been dosing off until that moment. They all began to rush into the city while shouting at one another. Yuri noted that the archers on the rooftops fled, as well. The bridge was now deserted, but there was no sign of Agrioli. Yuri stepped from the shadows of the alley and made his way out into the open. He checked over his shoulder multiple times and kept an eye on the rooftops. No one was there.

When Yuri got halfway down the bridge, he spotted a group moving towards the city. The torches they held stood out brilliantly against the dark forest. It looked like there was only four of them. That had to be Agrioli’s party.

The river was a fast torrent under the bridge. Yuri decided this would be as good a place as any to do this. He could throw the bodies into the river when he was done. As much as he disliked killing people who were simply guarding a target, it would be best if he left as little of a trace as he could. A group of knocked out bodyguards would be far too conspicuous. Yuri sat down on the wide railing of the bridge and waited.

Agrioli was walking in the midst of three men. One walked in the front and two walked behind him. Agrioli was a middle aged man with short-cropped hair. His clothing was warn and everything about him screamed exhaustion. He certainly didn’t look like the powerful Captain that had made Flynn’s life so difficult.

The group halted when they came upon Yuri. The man in front was larger than the other two bodyguards and had two battle axes strapped to his back. He wore armor on his shoulders and upper body, while the other two only wore traveling clothes. Yuri would take care of him first. 

 “You on the night shift?” the man asked. “I got some papers for me and these men right here.” The man started digging through the small leather bag he carried with him.

Yuri stood up and walked over to him. When he was only a foot from the bodyguard, he drew his sword and ran it through the man’s gut. The man’s eyes widened as he gurgled, bloody spittle frothing from his mouth.

“No!” Agrioli yelled, “This can’t be happening! Not now!

Yuri had his sword pulled from the large bodyguard’s gut in an instant and was on Agrioli just as quickly. The ex-knight’s eyes were filled with complete horror as he drew his own blade. Agrioli had hardly even raised it to defend himself before Yuri jammed his sword through the center of his throat.

The two other bodyguards had drawn swords of their own and were charging at Yuri. Yuri pulled his sword free from Agrioli’s throat and dodged an attack. He noticed he was already out of breath. It seemed he wasn’t as well as he had originally thought. Yuri blocked a swing and danced out of the way of another before slashing one of the bodyguards on the thigh. As he went down, Yuri ran his sword through the back of his neck.

The last bodyguard dropped his weapon, his sword making a racket on the stone bridge. “P-please.”

Yuri closed his eyes for only a moment and let out a breath. He couldn’t let this man go. He opened his eyes and raised his sword again. The bodyguard backed up a step, but Yuri still ran him through. The bodyguard toppled over the side of the bridge and landed into the rushing river with a quiet splash.


End file.
